Mega Loops
by Crisis
Summary: The Mega Man universe is entering the Infinite Loops, but there's a few problems...
1. Primary Anchor Candidate

Disclaimer: Mega Man does not belong to me. Also, the Infinite Loops as a whole aren't my idea. They were started by Innortal and later codified by Saphroneth, this is just my personal jump into what has become a reasonably large fanfiction community with something resembling shared continuity.

* * *

Loop mechanics (general):

One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.

There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one.

The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.

To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time _this_ time.)

The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop.

Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.

Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B _and_ B must be before A.)

Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.

Tvtropes Page: tvtropes. o r g (slash) pmwiki/ pmwiki . php/ Fanfic/ TheInfiniteLoops

* * *

Backstory: The Loops began as a last-ditch failsafe when an event of unknown origin, even to the gods, hit Yggdrasil, the world tree and divine computer that runs all of reality. And while the admins do their best to repair something that has never needed this level of repair before, Yggdrasil's depleted resources try to hold back the proliferation of bugs, malware, and even eldritch reality viruses that were formerly contained by the healthy system. But... Not every Loop was hit equally by this event. Some, like Eiken, managed to escape damage to the point where they do not require an Anchor to keep running. Others... others were hit even harder than most and suffered more damage as a result. In these more damaged Loops the rules that govern them are affected by data corruption, resulting in bizarre circumstances that sometimes do not exist elsewhere.

And the branch of Yggdrasil containing the Mega Man multiverse was hit harder than any other known Loop.

* * *

Attempting Loop Activation:

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 1 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock shook his head as he suddenly experienced a glut of memory errors. Entire years worth. Just like...

No, he'd never experienced something like this before... Why would he think he had?

It didn't matter. Dr. Wily had stolen Dr. Light's robot masters and attacked the city. Since he had been about the only thing outside Wily's control, he'd volunteered to be converted into a fighting robot and stop the mad doctor's plans. And possibly get him psychiatric help once he captured him.

The gate in front of him slid up and he beheld his opponent.

"Took you long enough," the orange robot master glared. "I thought you might have chickened out. But the Glue Gun of Bond Man will make certain you stick around... forever!"

Bond Man? No, that wasn't right... It was supposed to be 71#3 # &*$ #!%^...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 2 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock still hadn't figured out what was up with his memory banks. He seemed to have spontaneously gained at least one redundant copy of events prior to actually living them, except it had been hopelessly corrupted and unreliable. After all, Dr. Wily had used a space station rather than the garish castle his false memories suggested. And for whatever reason, those memories were locked out from being overwritten.

Very odd.

But Rock's memory problems didn't change the fact that he needed to free the Chronos Institute from Dr. Wily's control.

"Well, look who decided to show up!" his own voice came from behind him.

Whirling around, Rock came face to face with... Copy Robot? Where was Qu!|\|7?VFRF[}%...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 3 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock honestly felt like the universe was off somehow. In addition to what might have been multiple sets of corrupted memories of events he both had and hadn't lived, all of the robot masters seemed to be musically inclined.

Sure, the instrumentals were catchy and the songs were quite good, but the whole practice just seemed somehow... wrong.

Like what he was hearing as he climbed towards his confrontation with Gamma.

Gamma, stand for you are now unchained (You are now unchained)

You'll bring peace to our world gone insane

Restoring your freedom to make you whole (You are now unchained)

I'll give you power, you'll take control

All systems online

g:\GAMMA\sys/activation

g:\[peacekeeping]/calculation…

g:\…[solution\extermin 7!0|\|%$W6% 8...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 4 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock had no time for this. He didn't know how he had memories of fighting this giant crane game reject when he'd never encountered it before, but he really didn't care so long as they helped him finish this quickly.

Severing the thick cable holding the machine up, he rode it to the ground and ripped off the canopy, only to freeze at the sight of the occupant.

"Kalinka?!" he stared incredulously at the young girl, looking like she hadn't slept or bathed in days. "Where's Dr. Cos$ [|#?#$%^ ...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 5 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock had no idea what to think. Everything seemed to be going along according to the partial memory errors he'd received, except that he was a character in a video game. And apparently aware of it. Then some kid left his system on and, impossibly, Dr. Wily escaped into the outer world and Rock followed. Then Dr. Wily somehow caused a bunch of smaller robots to coalesce into a giant robot master-type thing.

Then things got weird.

"Because I..." declared Dr. Wily dramatically, throwing off his labcoat and revealing a dark-colored gi with mesh underneath, "...am a ninja!"

Seriously... What the heck was g01|\|&}nftwG%$Ydft4s5#$^...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 6 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock was rather enjoying the World Robot Tournament. Sure, fellow robot masters were fighting, but it wasn't with him or to the death. It was, all things considered, a welcome change.

Even if those weird memory errors of his insisted the semi-finalists were supposed to be different.

"The first of eight semi-finalists!" the announcer boomed. "Built by the Comic Irregulars of Australia!"

"CHEDDAR MONK!"

The crowd roared with approval as the robed robot lifted its orange beam saber in70 743 A!&EVy6f4y6er^V&^9*t...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 7 using primary Anchor candidate:

"Watch out," Rock told his partner. "There's no telling what Dr. Wily's newest robot will try to pull."

"Understood," Tempo replied as he opened the door.

Rock silently counted his blessings that Tempo had started to help him in his fight against Dr. Wily since they met at the expo – even if the 'hints' his sister kept dropping that they should be a couple tended to be fairly annoying. Taking on the various threats that just seemed to keep cropping up without her help would have been a great deal harder. He knew this for a fact since he seemed to have partial memory errors of another life where he'd done just that.

Of course, the robot they were about to face rather flew in the face of those strange false memories himself.

"Well, well," growled the bipedal wolf robot Treble. "If it isn't the dynamic duo." At Treble's side sneered his animalistic and strangely quadrupedal humanoid companion Bass. "I suppose we'll have to put those new upgrades to the test. Come on Bass!"

Treble and Bass leaped into the air, glowing with energy as they began their combining sequence...

...and reality froze.

_'What?'_ Rock thought to himself in confusion. Treble and Bass simply hung in midair, completely frozen. Rock himself couldn't seem to move either. _'What's happen!|\|&vve676v$%32% c24..._

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 8 using primary Anchor candidate:

"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA! PEOPLE OF THE WORLD BEHOLD! I know it may be a bit sudden, but I hereby announce the commencement of my eighth plot to take over the world!" the sunglasses-wearing Dr. Wily declared over the pirated television broadcast, revealing his newest line of robot masters.

The entire world stared united in stupefied silence.

"Using the power of interpretive dance!"

Rock tried to reboot his neural net. _'What is this... I don'7 3^3|\|..._

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 9 using primary Anchor candidate:

Rock was wary. He had woken up one day with a slew of memory errors depicting multiple separate lives that he'd apparently already lived. The ones that seemed the oldest, if such a concept could truly be applied to them, got rather corrupted towards the end before becoming completely unreadable, but he had a feeling they were somehow important.

The others were a combination of similar or odd variations of the original up to a point where something incredibly strange happened and the universe just... crashed. Like a computer running a faulty program.

The events happened later and later, one for each set of robot masters Dr. Wily had used. As he was currently dealing with the ninth set of robot masters, Rock was on edge, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And as he entered the area where Fake Man should be, he knew that it was about to happen. Because instead of Fake Man, there was a bound Dr. Light in the room.

Rock was prepared for just about anything, up to and including the whole room suddenly turning into a three-ring circus where clown cars tried to run him over. Thus he was rather stunned when he managed to cross the room and start to free Dr. Light without incident.

"Are you okay Dr. Light?" he asked his creator, still frantically scanning the room for anything weird.

"Oh, I'm just fine," the doctor said in a voice that very clearly wasn't that of Dr. Light.

Rock's jumpiness was all that managed to save him. He was so keyed up that he backed off as fast as possible at the first un-Dr. Light sound out of the impostor's mouth and just barely managed to avoid a Metal Blade that would have taken his head off. He stared as the impostor peeled off Dr. Light's face to reveal the face of a robot he was quite familiar with.

"Old Doc Robot's just PEACHY!" the skull-faced multi-weapon robot master yelled as he attacked.

In a way, Rock was kind of relieved. Now that the bizarre event was out of the way, he could focus on finding the real Dr. L![]-+\=}"/...

ATTEMPT FAILED

PRIMARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE DEEMED UNVIABLE DUE TO SUCCESSIVE FAILURES

ADDITIONAL PRIMARY ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE

PROCEEDING TO SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE

* * *

Attempt 1) Bond Man was actually intended to be included in the original Mega Man, but they cut the number of robot masters in the game down to six before the eighth could even be designed.

Attempt 2) I actually like the idea of Quint. He was a very poorly handled character in my opinion. Personally, I think he's yet another clone of Rock using futuristic technology programmed to think he's the real thing. It's not like Wily hasn't proven to be more capable of that than kidnapping and reprogramming Mega Man or anything...

Attempt 3) The Megas rock. That is all.

Attempt 4) I'm just as confused as Rock is. I swear, this stuff comes out of my brain without consulting me first.

Attempt 5) _Megaman: Upon A Star_. I share Rock's opinion of the events depicted. And they go _exactly_ like that in the material referenced.

Attempt 6) So... I _may_ be a fan of the _Darths and Droids_ webcomic...

Attempt 7) Tempo/Quake Woman is one of the original characters from the Archie comics. She's also one of the few female robot masters around, and the only one so far not made by Dr. Light, so Roll tends to be Shipper On Deck for Tempo and Rock.

Also a fatal reality glitch seems to have occurred with Treble and Bass.

Attempt 8) Gigamix (the best of the Megaman mangas in my opinion) Wily to start with (and he looks damn cool in those shades of his). Though he certainly took a turn for the bizarre there. Can you imagine Frost Man trying to do ballet?

Attempt 9) Rock is remembering the failed Loop activation attempts. _This shouldn't be possible._


	2. Secondary Anchor Candidate

Special Loop Terms:

Branch - A multiversal section of Yggdrasil comprising a universal baseline and all of it's myriad 'branching' variants. Can also be known as a 'Loop' when the term is referring to a location. They are so termed because Yggdrasil is frequently referred to as a tree. The Megaverse and all variations thereof comprise one such branch.

Loop Aware - To be aware that time is looping (without needing help) but not remembering past Loops

Dreaming - The ability to recall memories from past Loops without actually being Awake. Powers and physical skills are not retained. Extremely rare.

Malicious Looping Entity (MLE) - Anchors and loopers are meant to increase the stability of their branch of Yggdrasil so it doesn't collapse into nonexistence while repairs are affected. MLEs... essentially do the opposite. Extremely nasty and thankfully extremely rare. Most branches don't even have _one_.

* * *

Attempting Loop Activation:

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 1 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll blinked as her memory banks glitched.

Looking down at herself, she suddenly wondered if she'd always been this tall. Or had been such a mature-appearing model. The yellow bodysuit with the red stripes on the side certainly didn't seem familiar to her...

She really didn't remember getting into a fight with a buff-looking Cut Man.

She dodged a rolling cutter narrowly and pointed her arm at Cut Man, feeling it reform like her brother's often did – when did Dr. Light install that on her? – into... a toaster?

What good was a toa$73R/$%&^$Fg5ev6&^]...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 2 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll hated her life.

To start, she had fragmented and corrupted memories of at least one timeline that really didn't match the one she was living, reality couldn't seem to make up its mind about what was really going on, she was anatomically correct (which felt extremely weird to her despite the fact that her clearest memories insisted she'd always been this way), and her clothes kept getting destroyed for the most ridiculous reasons.

_'I swear,'_ she thought angrily to herself, _'if something stupid disintegrates my clothes one more time, !'11..._

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 3 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll reflected that the oddest things tended to cross one's mind during times of peril.

She could have been reflecting on the fact that she had a glut of unexplained memory errors showing a completely different life – or was it several different lives? – she'd led.

She could wonder why Dr. Light apparently seemed to be based in Hawaii rather than this 'Mega City' she recalled from the other lives.

She might possibly wonder why she was programmed for polynesian cultural preservation in addition to the housekeeping duties her base design was meant for.

A question more pertinent to her current predicament was why, during his tenth attempt at global domination, Dr. Wily was using the Genesis Unit – Buster Rod G, Mega Water S, and Hyper Storm H, – to support his robot masters instead of a trio of robots her memory errors told her were called Enker, Punk, and Ballade – the Mega Man Killers?

An even better question would be why they had kidnapped her to set a trap for her brother when her memory errors insisted she should be sick with something called Roboenza instead.

However, what Roll really wanted to know all of a sudden was why she'd spent her life dressed as a hula girl complete with grass skirt.

Of course, Tempo seemed to dress the same way for equally unapparent reasons and her brother seemed much more interested in her than her memory errors indicated he would have been, so in the end it wasn't that bad she supp0$3|)^V%W^WY%%$GHYFg6yer...

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 4 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll did her best to remain focused as she fought one of Dr. Wily's latest robot masters. Her brother had managed to do it, and she refused to dishonor him by failing to do the same. But that day haunted her incessantly.

Rock had gone off to Dr. Wily's latest space station to capture the madman and put an end to his latest reign of terror. He'd done it more than once already, and there was no reason to believe he wouldn't do it again.

So the whole world was understandably shocked when Dr. Wily appeared on every channel laughing victoriously.

Beside him was her brother.

More specifically, what was left of him.

Dr. Wily had apparently decided to indulge in a barbaric practice and mount her brother's head on a pike.

Consumed by sorrow and rage, she'd insisted that her father make her into a fighting robot like her brother had become so she could carry on his work. It was a testament to how affected Dr. Light was himself that he didn't even raise a complaint. He'd just wordlessly and mechanically done exactly as she asked, and more. She'd been outfitted with some experimental upgrades that allowed her to combine with Tango – the only surviving animal companion left – and the moment she'd seen the claws at the ends of her fingers that first time using the 'super adapter', she'd known exactly what she would do with them.

Roll had descended on the armies of Dr. Wily like the wrath of god, carving her way through his forces with a ferocity that a force of nature would have approved of. But he'd escaped then. Roll vowed he wouldn't do so again.

She was determined to catch Dr. Wily for real this time. But she wasn't going to hand him over to the authorities.

No, she was going to straight up k!11 4!|\/|VU&BB&^$F{}|543f65$%2$#**************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 5 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll was a little jealous of her brother for something that could not possibly be his fault. The reason was that she'd gotten a slew of memory errors about a lifetime where he was the hero instead of her, and during this lifetime he had to deal with a radical pro-human terrorist movement known as the Emerald Spears led by Xander Payne.

Her? She had to deal with a fanatical robot-worshipping cult lead by a nutjob named Reverend Samuel Tiberius Dark. She'd have traded him for Xander Payne in an instant.

Aside from the unfortunate initials which must have made his school life hell, the man preached that the fate of humanity was to submit to robot rule and the only salvation for humans was to become robots themselves. He'd come up with a perversion of the 'three laws' as the central tenets of the religion. 'A human may not harm a robot'. 'A human must obey the commands of a robot'. 'Humans may not preserve their existence at the expense of robots'. The man believed that Dr. Wily was some kind of messiah, Dr. Light was the devil incarnate, and that she and her brother were traitors to their divine race for daring to defend the lives of humans.

And her other brother? Blues apparently had been sucked in by the cultist propaganda since he was leading the latest revolution in their name.

She dueled her older brother, trying to find something that indicated he wasn't doing this of his own volition when Blues what shot... by Blues.

Roll stared in confusion at two of her brother when the image of the first, her opponent, wavered and then dropped entirely to reveal a completely different robot.

An impostor.

Using her older brother's image to give the cult a semblance of credibility.

To say Roll was livid would be an understatement.

But even as her fury built up, she noticed something that replaced it with disgust.

The unknown robot was like the other models she'd faced in the fortress, only red. The other major difference was that the clear dome revealed not a complex CPU, but a live human brain. The cult had gone so far as to surgically remove a person's brain and place it in a robot? What kind of sick people were in charge?

"Well," chuckled a familiar voice, "I suppose the facade couldn't have gone on forever."

Roll's jaw dropped. "Reverend Dark?!" she shouted incredulously.

"Samuel Tiberius Dark is dead," the robot declared, activating a rotating electromagnetic field around himself in preparation for further combat. "I am the Dark Man!"

Roll fumed. The nutjob was going down. She couldn't let him spread his fanatical poison an- 10|\|&3Reht^%4656%76&)=()(^$ !***************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 6 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll was really disturbed right about now.

The constellation droids, she could handle. Even if Gemini looked like a robot hermaphroditic transvestite.

Having to fight a slew of Dr. Wily's robot masters along with them, she could handle as well.

What was creeping her out though was the addition to the team that accompanied her and her friends.

The chinese robot Fan seemed to have no personality whatsoever. He didn't talk, emote, or anything. He just stood there and stared blankly at whatever was in front of him despite the fact that he was supposedly just as advanced and human-like as Roll herself.

He was looking at her again. With those empty eyes that just seemed to cons|_||\/|3 3^3R-74!|\|&#$%vu^ct5***************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 7 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll cheered from her seat in the pulsing crowd.

Everything was going great. Dr. Wily hadn't been heard from in a while, both she and her brother Rock were actually going to school, Rock had a girlfriend named Chelsea, and they were all about to enjoy the latest rock and roll sensation.

"Greetings everyone!" yelled a boombox-themed robot master from the stage. "I'm DJ Jazzy J4-8950, and I'm your mix artist for the evening! Are you all ready to rock?!"

The crowd cheered.

"I said, ARE YOU ALL READY TO ROCK?!"

The cheers became thunderous.

"Then welcome to the stage the newest mechanical music sensation, and my fellow band mates: The Dreamwaves!" DJ Jazzy yelled to the crowd. "On drums, we have the incredible BARRAGE MAN!"

The crowd yelled in approval for the massive 25-foot tall robot and his equally huge drum set that took up the entire back of the stage.

"On guitar, keyboard, bass, and saxaphone, we have the amazing MULTI MAN!"

The cheers continued for the self-replicating instrumentalist.

"And on vocals is the sensational EXPRESS MAN!"

A blur zoomed to the center of the stage and the sleek form of the band leader stood before the delirious crowd.

"But before we begin, I'm afraid I have some sad news for everyone," DJ Jazzy said somberly.

The crowd's cheering died down in confusion.

"I'm afraid Dr. Wily has ordered your termination," DJ Jazzy intoned ominously as the eyes of all the band robots turned glowing red. "Nothing personal, you understand."

And with that, the robots jumped off the stage, which itself rumbled and stood up, revealing a massive Godzilla-sized steel machine that looked very much like the devil series robots and towered over the suddenly terrified crowd.

It was about then that the screaming finally st R73|)%Y$n8k&df54tf#%^*************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 8 using secondary Anchor candidate:

Roll stood behind her brother the hero as he faced down the strange alien robot known as Terra.

She worried for her brother, partly because she had false memories of a reality where he'd failed at being the hero and was brutally murdered for it. She also had false memories of taking his place for multiple lifetimes, during one of which she'd failed catastrophically. So she'd let her brother volunteer and trusted him to save the world, but she'd requested to be outfitted as his field support to help make sure he stayed alive. It had worked so far, but this opponent worried her more than any other and she wasn't really sure why.

"So," Terra sneered down at them, "this is what the pathetic inhabitants of this planet have to defend them. I am not impressed."

"This is your only warning," Rock called confidently. "Cease all hostile actions and leave this planet in peace!"

"Or what?" Terra laughed mockingly. "Your weapons couldn't even scratch me. Here, I'll even give you a free shot to prove it. And when you fail, you die pathetic Earth scrap."

With that, Terra spread his arms wide in invitation. Mutely, Rock took him up on the offer and shot to disable, only for the buster shot to dissipate harmlessly on what looked like a personal energy field surrounding Terra.

"My turn," Terra grinned maniacally and pointed his hand at the blue bomber. "SPARK CHASER!"

"ROCK!" Roll screamed as the laser weapon zig-zagged from Terra and straight through her brother's head. An instant later, several more proceeded to shred the rest of his body mercilessly.

"NOOOOOO!" Roll wailed in grief and fury as she saw her brother fall. She felt herself move and Tango attach to her as her arms simultaneously formed into clawed weapons of destruction. Some rational part of her mind noted that Dr. Light had never given her the modifications she was now using, but the rest of her didn't care. All that mattered was hurting Terra as much as possible.

Terra was caught off-guard in shock at her transformation and he took a rocket claw to the face before he could recover, and then Roll was upon him. Her purely physical weapons rent through Terra's defensive energy field with only some resistance and she clawed apart his body with fury, ripping out large chunks of his torso at the same time.

In the space of a few seconds, she'd rendered the alien invader to a shredded mess and let his body fall lifelessly to the ground while she mourned for her brother.

Or, that's what would have happened if Terra hadn't stood back up.

Roll stared in shock and horror at the sight of Terra getting back to his feet. She'd not only shredded his armor and ripped out at least half his vital mechanisms, but she'd also taken half his head off... and he was still moving...

The apparently undead robot raised his damaged fingers in her direction and yelled her death sentence.

"$P R| CH $ER!"

Roll found herself incapable of moving as the lethal laser weapon that had killed her brother cut a jagged line right towar|)$ 43RET%$76gy45%^65vy54************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 9 using secondary Anchor candidate:

If there was any robot that Roll genuinely hated, it was the future-tech clone of her that Dr. Wily made named Waltz. According to some glitchy memory errors – one set of several she possessed – if Rock had stepped forth to become a hero he'd have gotten a counterpart named Quint. A bitter and disenchanted robot who was originally convinced that he was somehow Rock himself from the future, and had not taken the truth of his origins very well after he'd returned to said future.

Waltz? Waltz was batshit insane.

The Dimensions, a set of robot masters from the future, when they had been led by Quint – or 'Mega Man's Shadow' as he'd taken to calling himself by then – in this other life had been rather typical of robot masters like what Dr. Wily had unleashed. That is, dangerous and causing lots of property damage, but relatively minimal loss of life all things considered. They were far more concerned with taking over territory than they were with killing people.

Under Waltz, the Dimensions were little more than crazed killers that put forth more effort targeting civilians than infrastructure. Their initial appearance had been a bloodbath.

Thankfully, Waltz's brother Bass had no more love for his insane sister than Roll herself did and had been all too happy to help her destroy the Dimensions and face off against Waltz herself.

Unfortunately, Waltz had been ready for them and the two of them had suffered severe injuries in bringing her down. Bass had lost one of his arms at the shoulder, Treble had half his body strewn over the battlefield, and Roll estimated her armor had more holes than swiss cheese. It was a miracle she was still functional.

But they had won. Waltz was missing her entire body from the waist down, her teleporter circuits were fried, and her arms were useless. There was no way she could escape this time.

"It's over," Roll brandished her chosen weapon at the fallen Waltz, a telescoping broom made of highly durable material. Despite its appearance, it made for quite the lethal weapon when she chose for it to and many foes had fallen prey to it after laughing at its appearance.

"You haven't seen the last of me," Waltz grinned maniacally from where she lay.

"What makes you think that?" Roll managed not to sneer, her expression studiously neutral.

"Because father gave me the kind of data copying ability yours gave you and that my dear brother got as well," Waltz laughed dementedly. "I've seen your memories."

Roll's eyes widened involuntarily.

"I've seen that this hasn't been your first time through..." Waltz said darkly. "And it won't be the last. It's only a matter of time before I repeat like you have and then I'll KILL EVERYTHING YOU EVER LOVED WHILE I MAKE YOU WATCH H31|13$$1-wtd5ce5vy6654$^&^*($# #$$%***************

ATTEMPT FAILED

SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE DEEMED UNVIABLE DUE TO SUCCESSIVE FAILURES

ADDITIONAL SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE

PROCEEDING TO TERTIARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE

* * *

Attempt 1) I actually kind of liked the Mega Man cartoon show...

Attempt 2) _Novas Aventuras de Megaman_. Yeah, it's pretty much like that.

Attempt 3) Aloha.

Attempt 4) Something just went very wrong...

Attempt 5) Reverend Dark is the product of my own twisted imagination. Feel free to toss him Ian Flynn's way and see if he sticks.

Attempt 6) Fan is just kind of... there in the game he's from. He doesn't really contribute anything to the storyline as far as any source I can locate reveals.

Attempt 7) If you're unfamiliar with the names introduced here, they're all from the 4-issue run of _Mega Man_ in Dreamwave Comics before they folded.

Attempt 8) Since when was Terra a zombie?

Attempt 9) Oh crap.


	3. Tertiary Anchor Candidate

Yggdrasil Threat Classification: The rating system goes from 1-5 in descending order of severity.

Category 1 - Capable of dealing critical damage to Yggdrasil's systems. This has happened _once_ and the event resulted in the Loops themselves becoming necessary to keep the whole system from crashing. A great deal of Yggdrasil's remaining power, roughly 90% at least, is dedicated to ensuring there's not a second.

Category 2 - Capable of completely destroying a branch of Yggdrasil's system (more commonly known as a Loop). A looper, particularly an Anchor, ascending to the divine level is the most well-known method to trigger a category 2 event. There have been two confirmed category 2 events. Madoka of the Puella Magica Loop was manipulated by her looping familiar Kyuubey into causing the first by ascending to the divine level, and the second was an event now known to loopers across the multiverse as The Crash. Much of what Yggdrasil operators do is meant to prevent potential category 2 events.

Category 3 - Capable of inducing metaphysical instability. Whether Loop or looper, metaphysical instability is _bad_ and, left unchecked, could worsen to a full-blown category 2 event. Yggdrasil operators have been known to intervene in category 3 events to prevent them from so worsening.

Category 4 - Serious threat in-universe. Basically anything an experienced or veteran looper could have significant trouble dealing with. A number of category 4 events result in universal destruction and/or the premature end of a Loop iteration. Little chance of causing serious metaphysical instability, so they're rather low on Yggdrasil's long list of priorities right now. Loopers are officially on their own dealing with these things.

Category 5 - Standard competent villain level threat, and not even a blip on Yggdrasil's radar at this point. Generally a negligible threat to an experienced looper.

* * *

Attempting Loop Activation:

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 1 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

Blues didn't betray the worry he felt as he faced off against the self-proclaimed King of Robots yet again. It was actually quite the feat given that his opponent had bisected him in their last encounter.

Their second – or was it fourth? His memory was kind of screwy lately – encounter really wasn't going any better for him either due to that danged energy reflecting shield. There was no two ways about it. The shield had to go.

He was about to overload his buster for a massive shot that would surely destroy the shield when his screwy memory showed him the outcome of such an action.

_'Time to do something different,'_ he thought to himself and charged at King, intending to vault over the shield and fire point blank at his face instead.

As he approached, reality itself seemed to short out for an instant and suddenly King was holding his axe instead. And bringing down towards Blues's head with all his strength.

_'How?'_ was all Blues had time to think before he was cut in two onc3 & !|\|%$uB&%!(%0*************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 2 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

This was wrong. This wasn't how everything was supposed to go. He was supposed to be the disenchanted first creation of Dr. Light. An experimental military model with the mental programming of a son the man never had who ran away because he was afraid that a repair to his faulty power core would end up erasing his personality.

He most certainly wasn't supposed to have been the last hope of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world where Wily had not only won, but apparently done so without any resistance whatsoever while at the same time framing Dr. Light for crimes Wily had committed. He wasn't supposed to have lost his faith in humanity and be forced to duel his brother to the death for defending them, and then watch as humanity's lack of will caused even Rock to lose faith.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to stop himself. Surely this w $ 4311******

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 3 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

This was much more familiar to Blues. His life was far from perfect, but it was more the purgatory his oldest memory errors depicted than the utter hell of the more recent ones. He'd made his share of mistakes... again, but he had the chance to make things right.

He would start by helping his younger brother destroy Ra Moon.

"When this is over, you and I have a lot to discuss," Rock said to him.

"Focus on the battle at hand," Blues reminded him, thankful his Break Man persona concealed his pained wince at his brothers tone. The allied robot masters of doctors Light and Wily gathered around the two and prepared to breach Ra Moon's chamber.

It was then that he felt something touch his mind. Something sinister, foul, and completely uncaring for all life. He tried to push it back, but he might as well have tried to push back the tide itself as the presence swept over his consciousness and took over his body, forcing him to watch as he raised his buster at his own brother.

**"Like the one here,"** he heard the voice of Ra Moon come from his own mouth as he shot his brother in the back.

He watched, horrified, as Rock fell lifelessly to the ground amidst the utterly shocked expressions of the other robot masters.

**"For the glory of Ra M00n#$VY^$Y%$fyt4%4&^56)({_***********************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 4 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

_'I'm being punished,'_ Blues thought to himself. _'That's all there is to it.'_

His memory errors were getting clearer, so he was certain of this fact. He'd forsaken his father and turned on his family in his original life and never truly made any effort to heal the rift that had formed. So he was forced to live through lives where he failed to protect them or was forced to betray them even worse than he had.

What else could he conclude? He'd ended the last run-through by murdering his brother while under mind control from Ra Moon, and he'd spent the entirety of this one attempting to do the same while unable to disobey orders from Dr. Wily. He could only thank the powers that be that he was far less competent at it this time than previously.

"You know," he heard himself saying in that nasally voice he seemed to have right now as he continued to shoot at Rock, "I'd honestly prefer to have you working for Dr. Wily like I am, but orders are orders."

"That's right," Rock replied in a manner completely unlike him. "You're nothing but a robot you outmoded model. Your destiny is to follow orders and be a good little weapon until your masters and betters make a better one and send you to the scrap heap."

Blues found himself completely frozen, unable to move as Rock's face turned ugly and sinister. He could only watch and listen in horror as the favorite son of Dr. Light – and he knew in his heart that Rock deserved it more than he – turned into his own antithesis before his eyes.

"You're right to be jealous of me," Rock continued, activating a set of shades on his own helmet just like Blues's. "After all, I'm the latest model. New and improved in every way. The son Dr. Light _really_ wanted all along."

As he spoke, Rock wound a purple scarf around his neck and his helmet shifted in appearance until Blues could have sworn he was looking at himself wearing blue armor instead of red.

"Because all I am is _you_, except better."

Blues wanted to do something, anything, but all he could do was watch immobile as his brother, looking so much like Blues himself, raised his buster to Blues's head and began charging.

"There's no room for last year's m0|)3145b5u7-[0[pp;}{|****************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 5 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

Blues woke up in his room at Light Labs feeling a sensation that a human would have recognized as eerily close to a cold sweat.

_'I was about to be shot by my brother...'_ he thought in terror, which turned quickly to confusion. _'No... I don't have a brother... But it looked like me? Was I about to get shot by myself?'_

Blues shook his head. It must have been what humans called a nightmare. He'd really have rather learned that he could dream from a more pleasant example though.

He remembered now. He'd suffered a failure in his core during a field test due to some unforeseen fault and his father had sent him to bed while he explored options to fix the problem. Hopefully in a way that didn't rewrite Blues's mind.

Blues shuddered as he thought about that. He liked the way he was and he didn't want to lose that. With this in mind, he made his way towards his father's room where he could see a light on. As he approached the door, he heard his father talking with someone and, despite himself, he listened in.

"I hate getting into debates with you," he heard his father say.

"You called me for my dazzling insight," an unfamiliar voice retorted, with the typical distortion caused by long-distance communication devices. "Or did you just call to complain about your boy?"

Blues couldn't quite make out the first part of the response, but he heard the rest of it loud and clear.

"Honestly, it would be easier if I _did_ write that rebellious streak out of him..."

Blues backed away from the door in horror. His own father would rewrite his mind? No... It couldn't be possible...

He ran back to his room, tears trailing down his face. He had just started to toss energy tanks into a sack when an extremely clear memory error hit him.

It showed what would happen if he went down this path. A life alone, slowly dying from the flaw in his power core. A rift with his father that could never be healed. Death battles with robots who should have been his dearest siblings. Becoming a villain. A living hell of his own making.

He paused, and thought about the situation for a moment. His father hadn't quite sounded like someone who had actually meant to undertake that course of action. Maybe... Maybe his father _wouldn't_ actually rewrite his mind over this? Maybe this... was a misunderstanding.

Blues made his decision. He'd trust his father, the one who had taught him what doing the right thing meant, to do the right thing himself. And maybe he could have a real family this time.

He turned around, and saw Dr. Light standing in the doorway to the room.

"Oh, hi father," he greeted, relieved despite being startled. "I didn't know you were there."

"Quite alright my boy," his father returned amiably. Still, something seemed... off. "I was just talking with a colleague of mine and I decided that fixing your power core couldn't wait. Please come with me."

Blues followed his father, a bit confused at the sudden shift in the repair timetable, but staying with his decision to trust his creator. The off feeling didn't go away though. If anything, it grew stronger as they approached the lab.

He obediently lay down on the table, and was a bit surprised when he suddenly found himself restrained.

"What?" he blurted in confusion. The confusion only grew as his father opened the access in his head rather than his torso. "What are you doing?"

"Oh," Dr. Light smiled in what should have been a kindly manner, if his eyes hadn't suddenly taken on an evil appearance. "Well, the fault with the power core is only a minor one you see."

Blues didn't see, and as his father gathered up some sinister looking tools he realized that he really wasn't going to like what was about to happen.

"The real problem lies in your programming," Dr. Light continued in that kind fatherly voice from the twisted evil face. "Far too free-willed. Completely unsuited to the contract. Building a new model would just take too long. Far easier to remove the unnecessary subroutines and continue with you. You understand, don't you?"

Blues wanted to scream that he didn't understand, and to let him go, but his mouth refused to work.

"Excellent," Dr. Light said in a voice not his own as he began the procedure.

Blues tried to scream as he felt his mind being torn a| R7}+){"Pl0{_)^&:***************************

ATTEMPT FAILED

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 6 using tertiary Anchor candidate:

Blues clutched his he4d in 4gony. Wh4t fre5h h3ll w4s h3 be!ng thr0wn !nto thi$ t!me? Wh3n w0u1d th!s ni&47|\/|4R3 3|\||)0VY#rh76gYEF^********************

ATTEMPT FAILED

WARNING: RELEVANT BRANCH OF YGGDRASIL SYSTEM BECOMING DANGEROUSLY UNSTABLE. ATTEMPTING TO SET TO READ-ONLY.

WARNING: BRANCH SEVERELY DAMAGED. SETTING BRANCH TO READ-ONLY MAY RESULT IN DATA BEING UNRECOVERABLE.

PROCEED? Y/N

Y:\ N

READ-ONLY SETTING ABORTED.

DETERMINING ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF ACHIEVING STABILITY...

LINKED LOOP PROTOCOLS DETERMINED TO POSSESS HIGHEST PROBABILITY OF SUCCEEDING.

ASSESSING LINKED LOOP PROTOCOLS...

SECTION 1: APPROACHING CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS. ANCHOR CANDIDATES PROVEN UNVIABLE WITHOUT AID.

SECTION 2: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION 3: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION 4: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION 5: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION 6: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION 7: CRITICAL CORRUPTION LEVELS DETECTED. ANCHOR CANDIDATES CURRENTLY UNRECOVERABLE.

SECTION X: SECTION NOT FOUND.

CONCLUSION: LINKED LOOP PROTOCOLS IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS TIME.

ASSESSING FURTHER ALTERNATIVE METHODS...

UNIVERSAL DATA PATCH DEEMED MOST LIKELY AVAILABLE METHOD TO SUCCEED.

PROCEED? Y/N

Y:\ Y

ATTEMPTING EMERGENCY UNIVERSAL DATA PATCH VIA 'JUMPSTART' PROTOCOLS.

SEARCHING FOR DONOR LOOP...

VIABLE DONOR FOR UNIVERSAL PATCH DETERMINED.

BEGINNING FUSED LOOP...

* * *

Attempt 1) King is actually kind of a badass if you think about it.

Attempt 2) Inspired by the musical group The Protomen.

Attempt 3) Comic Ra Moon is freaking scary.

Attempt 4) Blues is stuck in a nightmare he can't wake up from.

Attempt 5) ...That's just wrong.

Attempt 6) Did... did the Loop attempt just fail in less than ten seconds?


	4. The Crash

The Crash - An event by which an Anchor was destroyed and their entire branch erased from existence at the conceptual level, erasing even its backup data in the Hub (i.e. any fiction regarding it in our universe). The reverberations of this caused the premature termination of _every_ Loop iteration running at the time, set every known looper to active status in an attempt to prevent further damage to existing Loops, and shook out a few new loopers in a number of places, some of which suffered minor bugs in their reality code that have since done wonky stuff to them (ex: Silver Spoon in the MLP Loops who had her species marker knocked off kilter).

And you're about to see it happen.

* * *

Attempting Loop Jumpstart:

(Hint: This _should_ be possible to decode, but the site may have eaten a few characters. Use https(colonslashslash) d o c s. goog l e.c o m (slash)document(slash)d(slash)10vGkNCfelRpmCjvPOyrFcYrjuQAREN65S7sYskpfMEo(slash)edit(questionmark)usp(equals)sharing for the properly encoded version. If you just don't want to, then the decoded version is at the bottom after the section with Hephaestus)

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt using fused Loop 'jumpstart' protocols with Anchor ***ERROR*** from Loop designated '***ERROR***':

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_***CRASH***_

* * *

Loop -

Yggdrasil admin office for branch designated 'Mega':

Hephaestus regained consciousness to blaring alarms. He fought back the fog that pervaded his mind and the pain that wracked his body so he could orient himself. He hadn't felt this bad since the time he'd tried to pick a solo fight with Typhon back when he still believed anything he did could impress his bitch of a wife.

"REPEAT: ALL ADMINISTRATORS REPORT TO YOUR ASSIGNED LOOPS TO ASSIST ANCHORS IN RECOVERING. ALL OTHER YGGDRASIL PERSONNEL REPORT TO EMERGENCY STATIONS FOR DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. REPEAT: ALL ADMIN–"

Hephaestus tuned out the automated message. He'd get in trouble for not reporting as ordered, but it was likely he was already in a heap of trouble considering what he'd been doing before he had apparently collapsed, so a little more wasn't going to hurt him that much. The important thing was that he recover the logs from the fused Loop attempt. There was very vital information that needed to be salvaged from that.

If only he could remember what.

Shaking his head and telling himself that it would come back to him in time, he called up the Loop log and blinked. Loop designated '***ERROR***'? Anchor name ***ERROR***? That couldn't be right. They were clearly–

It was right then that Hephaestus realized that he had no clue what the names of the donor Loop and its Anchor were. He tried a memory retrieval spell on himself, and got nothing.

Crap.

That could only happen if the thing he was trying to remember had been conceptually erased from existence. The memories were unretrievable because there _weren't any memories to retrieve_.

He checked the file for the fused Loop and found that it was completely corrupted. The data still existed, thank Kami-sama, but it was utterly unreadable. He checked the status of the Loop he was assigned to get functional, and sighed with relief that it hadn't been erased as well. In fact, it seemed the universal data patch procedure had been partially successful and it was more stable than it had been. Then there was the fact that he still remembered that there _had_ been a donor universe and Anchor involved, so there was a chance, however slim, that their data still existed somewhere.

It was a desperate hope at best, but he'd take what he could get at this point.

He forwarded the corrupted file of the fused Loop to his superiors and proceeded to try and see what else could be salvaged from this endeavor. Some data that would perhaps justify the loss of a whole branch from Yggdrasil's mainframe.

Yggdrasil had been having more problems than just the Loops for a while now. At first they'd given loopers estimates on when Yggdrasil would be fixed, but as more Loops were brought online and Yggdrasil's depleted resources stretched ever thinner they'd pushed those estimates back. Eventually they'd stopped giving them at all.

It wasn't just the thinned-out resources to blame. As more of the universes were rendered provisionally functional through the Loops, an increasing number of bugs, malware, and viruses came with them. These things were normally kept under control with little issue, but that was when Yggdrasil was functioning at full power. With the damage and reduced power levels, these normally minor issues that could be safely ignored or tabled indefinitely were suddenly potentially significant threats to the vulnerable Loops.

Hephaestus remembered when the DC and Marvel Loops were rushed to functionality because they both contained some of the most comprehensive universal restoration code in Yggdrasil's system. That code was now indispensable in keeping the Loops running despite being constantly attacked by annoyingly malicious code that he would swear spontaneously multiplied any time someone wasn't looking.

The god of the forge was brought out of his musings as he found what he was looking for. The comparison data analysis.

One of the things everyone did was compare events in the Loops to what little data they had on the category 1 event that had originally damaged Yggdrasil and made the Loops necessary in the first place. Such information could potentially allow them to speed up the repairs. If nothing else, they'd be able to spot a repeat event early enough that they could stop it before it became a problem – one category 1 event was more than enough for one eternity thank-you-very-much.

So far matches for the category 1 event hadn't risen above 20%, and that was the Skaia protocol. It likely meant that the event was something very similar to the Skaia protocol – which would be bad news because no one at the divine level had any knowledge of such a thing and the idea that one could be independently developed without any of the gods knowing was frightening – or the Skaia protocol itself was expanded upon to cause the event – an even more frightening prospect, especially since there had been no indication that the Skaia protocol had left its quarantine area in Yggdrasil prior to the event.

There it was.

CATEGORY 1 EVENT COMPARISON: 15% MATCH. NO COMMON DATA WITH SKAIA PROTOCOL.

That... that was bad. It indicated the latter scenario of someone getting a hold of the Skaia protocol without their knowledge and actually trying to 'improve' it. What really floored him was the next line.

VIRAL CONSCIOUSNESS SUCCESSFULLY DISSIPATED.

A _what?!_

Okay... a viral consciousness inside the Loop might explain some of the problems he'd been having, but he didn't immediately recall identifying it. He tried another memory retrieval spell to see if he could figure out what exactly had happened.

Memories came flooding back. He'd seen some really nasty viral code in the presence of something whose sole purpose could only be to breach dimensional barriers from 'below' while increasing the dimensions of its operator. The viral consciousness had invented an artificial method of ascending to the divine level.

It hadn't taken more than a moment to realize what was happening and he immediately requisitioned power from Yggdrasil, citing an imminent category 2 event to get a response rapid enough to make a difference. He'd brought his full personal power to bear, called in favors from other gods to bolster what he had, promised favors to a few more if they helped, and broke Almighty-knew-how-many regulations to siphon just the tiniest bit more out of Yggdrasil's over-extended reserves. A viral consciousness was attempting to ascend past the confines of the Loop and if it succeeded, they'd have a genuine fully sapient and highly intelligent divine-level virus loose in Yggdrasil's damaged systems. He hadn't had time to convince anyone of the seriousness for a concerted effort to be made, so he'd done what he could to get immediate results and effectively went it alone with only a fraction of the power he should have had to deal with the problem.

He'd slowed down relative time in the Loop while simultaneously speeding it up for himself, making every tense moment count as he coded furiously. As he tried to stop the dimensional breach it was triggering, he examined the viral code. The viral consciousness was too hardy for a direct assault, but it appeared to be a composite consciousness in addition to being viral. He could attack the cracks and force them apart, returning it to the component minds once more. He was so focused on defeating the obvious threat that he hadn't noticed the direct metaphysical attack on the visiting Anchor in the background until it was too late.

When the Anchor gave out, his native Loop crashed hard enough that Hephaestus, directly connected to the fused Loop in his attempt to forestall disaster, had been rendered unconscious. As much as he wanted to mourn the loss of existence, he had to double-check Yggdrasil's claim that the consciousness had been effectively dissipated. Losing a Loop was bad enough. Having a viral consciousness _that_ dangerous free in the system would be worse.

Of course, it was going to take some time digging up any records after a disruption like that. Better get star-

VIRAL CONSCIOUSNESS DISSIPATION RECORD COMPILED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING.

VIEW NOW? Y/N

Hephaestus blinked. It was always weird when Yggdrasil did something like this. Anticipate something an operator would need and run the request on its own initiative. Yggdrasil's bouts of foresight were _always_ useful, but they could get a touch creepy at times.

Y:\ Y

VIRAL CONSCIOUSNESS DISSIPATED VIA SUCCESSFUL FRAGMENTATION OF COMPOSITE CONSCIOUSNESS.

LIST OF INDIVIDUAL CONSCIOUSNESSES COMPRISING COMPOSITE THAT WERE RESTORED:

DR. ALBERT W. WILY

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***DATA CORRUPTED***

***FILE NOT FOUND***

***UNKNOWN DATA***

Hephaestus winced. He hated being reminded of just how damaged this branch was. One barely functional section, six that were too corrupted to recover without further repairs, and one that had effectively been 'misplaced' among all the corrupted data.

Plus something that apparently wasn't supposed to exist in this branch. Possibly an invading virus from outside or something that had germinated in the damaged branch as the activation attempts failed. It was hard to be certain with the way things were.

THREAT ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL CONSCIOUSNESSES:

CATEGORY 4 OR LESS.

That was a relief. Much better than the category 2 event that had just happened. Category 4s could safely be left to loopers to deal with, provided he could actually get the Loop functional of course.

He typed in a request for analysis of viable Anchors.

PRIMARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE: ROCK LIGHT - 25% CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL LOOP ACTIVATION

SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE: ROLL LIGHT - 20% CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL LOOP ACTIVATION

TERTIARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE: BLUES LIGHT - 10% CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL LOOP ACTIVATION

Hephaestus swore. They were all more stable than before the universal data patch, but still nowhere near as stable as he'd like. Unlike most other offline branches, their branch was degrading with every failed activation attempt and it was possible for the whole branch to become completely unviable as soon as the next failure. He just couldn't take a chance on numbers that low.

With the other sections of the branch hopelessly corrupted until further repairs were made, a Linked Loop was simply impossible. The branch was also too corrupted to risk setting it to Read-Only lest it become completely unrecoverable as a result. And after what just happened there was simply no way another universal data patch via fused Loop would be authorized, even though the threat had been neutralized. The 'Mega' branch was officially omnia non grata until it was sufficiently stabilized.

Which meant it was time to get creative. Fortunately, Hephaestus was good at that. Being a patron god of invention had its perks.

He coded his idea furiously and ran it through Yggdrasil's precognitive data simulator.

66% CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL LOOP ACTIVATION USING NEW PROTOCOLS.

Much better, but still a lot lower than he'd like. He racked his brain for anything he could do when he had a flash of brilliance. It was risky, but...

90% CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL LOOP ACTIVATION USING NEW PROTOCOLS AND SCENARIO.

Hephaestus frowned. He'd honestly thought the number would be higher. He ran a number of variations on the scenario, but all the new simulations did was lower the number. He sighed as he accepted the fact that the odds simply weren't going to get any better.

It was time to make a call. He picked up his office phone and dialed the relevant number.

A voice chittered back at him from the other end of the line and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. The trio of interns that served under the god he was trying to contact seemed to take great pleasure in being as odd as possible ever since their ascension shortly before the category 1 event, going so far as to invent a language just to mess with others. Fortunately he'd taken the effort to learn it himself and had little trouble understanding them.

"Yes, it's me," he said and waited while the intern chittered back at him. "I'm sure they are, but I have things I need to do before I can meet with them. Is Hermes available?"

The intern chittered back at him at length before letting him respond. "Yes, I'll hold."

It was not too long a wait before he heard the voice of the god he'd called for.

"Hephaestus! Baby!" Hermes drawled over the phone. "Just got finished filling Sonic and his buddies in on what happened. Man, are the higher-ups pissed at you! I certainly hope you've got a good excuse for yanking power from Yggdrasil unauthorized like that, not to mention letting a Loop collapse like it did, or they're going to crucify you. Nails and all. This better not be a request to help you hide from them. You used up all your bargaining power doing whatever it was and it's just not worth it to cover for you right now."

"I was attempting to stop a containment breach by a category 2 viral consciousness hosted in the Loop I've been trying to get active," Hephaestus replied bluntly.

"...No joking?" Hermes finally asked. "How in Tartarus did that happen?"

"It invented a device to artificially induce ascension. I didn't realize it was using the visiting Anchor as fuel until it was too late," Hephaestus replied. He could hear Hermes sit down hard.

"Oh, speed," Hermes moaned over the line. "You deal with it?"

"Managed to break it up into smaller chunks, each one only a category 4 and most native consciousnesses," Hephaestus admitted. "Turns out the damn thing was a composite." The divine smith sighed. "Look, that device it used was a partial event match to the category 1 event. No common data with the Skaia protocol. Still a huge chunk of data on the category 1 event unidentified."

"Okay," Hermes said a bit weakly. "The higher-ups might be lenient in that case. Geez, you really don't get any breaks, do you?"

"Only in my leg," Hephaestus replied with bitter humor and he heard Hermes chuckle good-naturedly. "Look, the reason I called is that I need a favor. A big one."

The god of travel sighed the sigh of one who was about to agree to something against his better judgement. "How big, man?"

"I need you to activate Sonic's baseline."

"WHAT?!" Hermes sputtered. "Do... do you have any idea what you're asking?! If Yggdrasil tries to run that without all the other branches he hits looping or otherwise stable, it could cause a serious instability collapse! Not as bad as the one you just dealt with, sure, but I'd probably have to shunt them into a safe-mode branch so I could patch their Loop back up, which will probably be _Eiken_! You _know_ I hate sending them there! And I'd just have to take it offline again anyway!"

"Listen," Hephaestus implored. "I've got a new experimental protocol set up to get my Loop functional with much higher odds than anything I've had before, but the deterioration rate per failure means that there's a good chance that if I don't get it functional _now_, it won't ever happen."

Hermes was silent, so Hephaestus took that as a sign to continue.

"The numbers weren't high enough for me to risk it as-is, so I fiddled with the scenario parameters. I can get as high as 90% possibility of successful Loop activation, but only if you have Sonic's baseline running in tandem. The natural crossing of the two will add stability to the activation attempt and your Loop shouldn't be at any greater risk than normal."

"That's a lot of assuming you're doing there," the messenger god sighed. "Look, I can't just do this on a whim. I'm gonna need to call in a fair number of favors myself to get the power needed to arrange this like you want and..." Hermes paused for a moment. "And I owe it to Sonic and his friends to tell them what you want done and let them decide if they're willing to go along with it despite the risks. If they say no, then no deal. And you will owe me big if they say yes no matter what else happens."

"I'll accept those terms," Hephaestus agreed. He'd happily accept much harsher terms, but Hermes wasn't in the habit of gouging those he didn't feel deserved it and his connection to travel made him a patron god of hospitality by default. Offering a higher payment to him would be a grave insult that Hermes would be unlikely to forgive.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly," Hermes said as he hung up.

Hephaestus waited patiently for the return call, and when he got it, he calmly picked it up and waited for Hermes to speak.

"Sonic and his pals said to 'do it to it'," Hermes half-sighed half-chuckled. "Don't know why I expected anything different. I'll get things squared away on my end and link the final activation decision to your terminal. You won't be able to do anything until their current Loop is over, so you might as well go take your medicine from the higher-ups while you wait. If anything happens to you, I'll see that this goes through anyway. Don't worry about the higher-ups trying to stonewall this. We tricksters have ways of getting around little obstacles like that."

Hephaestus chuckled. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if the god of thieves already had copies of his office keys and login password. It wouldn't be the first time, and this time they'd be put to far better use than loading porn of his wife to his desktop. "Thank you."

"Seriously, man," Hermes offered, "good luck. Life around here wouldn't be half as much fun without you and your toys."

And with that, Hermes hung up.

Hephaestus sighed to himself and got up to go see his superiors. After a catastrophe like that, someone needed to be raked over the coals for appearances sakes, and it looked like it was his turn this time.

It actually turned out far better than he could have hoped. His data logs and offered memories about the viral consciousness and its attempt to breach universal containment went a fairly long way to explaining his actions. The proceedings and debates still took exceedingly long, years to the perception of mortals, before a decision was reached.

In the end, he was put on probation. All future decisions – he was sure he sensed Hermes' influence in that particular semantic wording – regarding his assigned Loop were to be reviewed and then approved before being undertaken until the entirety of the branch was successfully looping. In addition, he'd been assigned a trio of valkyrie interns/probation officers to watch over him. He certainly couldn't complain about that. He'd fully expected to be watched if he was allowed to go back to work and valkyries were much preferred to the alternatives. They were almost as beautiful as his wife – and trying to suggest they were equal or better within the same plane of reality as a jealous love goddess was just inviting trouble, regardless of his personal opinions – and they had a respectable appreciation for his work as a god of the forge. Infinitely more than his wife had ever possessed or ever would.

On the way back to his office, he'd noticed the valkyries assigned to him subtly flirting with him – you picked up on this kind of thing when married to a love goddess, no matter how estranged a marriage it was – and he'd flirted back. He definitely sensed Hermes' influence in his sentencing now. No one else he knew kept trying so honestly to hook him up with a lady, or three in this case, that appreciated him for who he was rather than (loudly) lamenting the fact that he wasn't a sculpted vision of male perfection.

He got back and assigned one of the valkyries, Herfjötur, to his perpetually empty secretarial desk. One of the others, Eir, retired to a corner and appeared to go to sleep while the third, Brynhildr, followed him into his office. It wasn't a bad arrangement. Two awake at all times, one guarding the outside of the office, and the last keeping a personal eye on him. One was certainly plenty, as Hephaestus was no fighter. A valkyrie might not be quite the same power level as he was, but they could fight more than well enough to subdue a semi-crippled inventor like himself with minimal effort.

He sat down at his terminal and waited for Hermes' message. To his surprise, Brynhildr started to give him a shoulder massage.

"Just so you know," she whispered, "if you try to break probation, I and my sisters will break your other three limbs before giftwrapping you for the Justice Gods. That said, Hermes _suggested_ that the best way to keep an eye on you was to make sure you didn't want to go anywhere without us."

The smith god chuckled. "Tough choice. The company of lovely capable ladies like yourselves and more help than I've ever had in the office or broken bones and arrest. I think I'll go with the former."

"Good choice," Brynhildr smirked. "Though if you behave yourself, we can probably be persuaded to a bit more than keeping you company and helping out at the office. Especially if your 'toys' are half as good as we've heard."

"You can judge the quality for yourself," Hephaestus winked. "I make everything with my own two hands and I simply won't stand for lovely ladies like yourself having anything less than the absolute best. Soon as we get my assigned Loop online, I'll get you all in for a custom armor fitting."

"We _do_ love a good custom armor fitting," the saucy valkyrie winked back. "Now, Hermes mentioned that you'd arranged something with him. How fortunate that only decisions made _after_ your sentencing are subject to review. Otherwise we might have a problem. I do believe that's him now."

Hephaestus looked at his screen.

MESSAGE FROM HERMES, GOD OF TRAVEL FIRST CLASS, TO HEPHAESTUS, GOD OF THE FORGE, FIRST CLASS:

Everything's taken care of. Just push the button and I'll let you know when your marker's being called in. In the meanwhile, do take some time to enjoy the company (and perhaps more) of your new companions.

Best of luck,

Hermes.

END MESSAGE

Hephaestus sighed heavily and looked back at the screen.

TANDEM RUN WITH LOOP DESIGNATED 'SONIC' AUTHORIZED BY LOOP ADMINISTRATOR HERMES.

BEGIN LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPT USING EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOLS DESIGNATED 'HEPHAESTUS 1' AND OPTIMAL DETERMINED SCENARIO? Y/N

Y:\ Y

BEGINNING LOOP...

* * *

Fused Attempt) O_O

-) Hephaestus is the god I chose to be the admin of the Megaverse. As an ancient god of the forge, I believe he'd make and excellent patron god of inventors like Dr. Light and others that populate the Megaverse.

The reason no one came to haul him in front of his superiors after the Lost Loop suffered severe metaphysical collapse was that everyone was essentially running around in a panic. They would have sent someone eventually, but so long as he wasn't trying to do a runner there were more important and urgent things to worry about.

As for the valkyries liking a god who lives his life with a limp due to a poorly healed broken leg in his youth and is perpetually marred by the soot of his forgework until he's about as far from 'handsome' as you can really get for a fairly average guy (I refuse to make him deformed and ugly. Though, for the greek gods, average appearance could probably be seen as 'ugly' so it still works for his mythical origins) – where was I? Oh, yes, valkyries liking Hephaestus – that's because I see valkyries as being warriors who respect things like hard work and craftsmanship. Especially when that hard work and craftsmanship goes into making the armor and weapons they use to kick copious amounts of behind. Arrogant, and actually somewhat cowardly according to several myths, Ares doesn't float their boat. A solid hard-working amiable smith who both treats them with respect and makes superior armor and weapons, aka 'toys', is much more their preference.

Why are there three of them? One, because Hephaestus really is on probation and they're really there to watch him. They rotate who is keeping a direct eye on him, who is pulling secretary duty outside his office, and who is resting. Two, because Aphrodite (Hephaetsus's wife) is an adulterous bitch that he can't get rid of (her contribution to the Trojan war went a fair ways in influencing my view of her). Making her hit the roof because her 'unattractive' husband is turning the tables with ladies genuinely interested in him is amusing to me. Especially when those ladies also turn their noses up at her favorite lover, Ares.

The way they act is a little atypical of what could be expected of warriors. I justify this by the fact that, while valkyries are warriors with few peers, they are still female and like to be treated to pretty things just as much as the next woman. They just like their pretty things to be functional and able to survive a warzone. Think of how stereotypical women might like a boyfriend who was a master goldsmith and jeweler who made custom items just for them and you'll get their mindset regarding smith gods. In addition, Hephaestus being married to a goddess of love, even a bitch like Aphrodite, has taught Him what ladies generally like and how to treat them well.

The sort-of-friendship with Hermes? Hermes may be respected, but you know the 'god of thieves' shtick has to work against him at times. Plus he's the patron of vagabonds and other underdog travelers, so I honestly think he'd be more sympathetic to Hephaestus than a number of other members of the greek pantheon. Why is he the admin of Sonic's Loop? Hermes is also the god of speed, of course. That and the attitude I see him having meshes well with Sonic's typical demeanor.

As for Hermes' interns, they're the Ancient Walkers. The original ones who 'died' (or rather ascended according to this) in the baseline before Yggdrasil was damaged. Wise though they may be, they like to mess with others' heads as a hobby. They currently have lesser aspects (like how many gods can exist within some universes while still fulfilling their roles running Yggdrasil) filling their former roles in Sonic's Loop.

...What is it about me that I can turn a simple author's note into a wall of text without realizing it?

* * *

Special Bonus! For those who don't care to decode the Crash Loop, here's the decoded format all ready for you:

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt using fused Loop 'jumpstart' protocols with Anchor ***ERROR*** from Loop designated '***ERROR***':

Blues was wondering what the hell was up with the world. He wanted to believe he'd finally woken up from the unending nightmare he'd been subjected to, but he didn't feel he could possibly be that lucky. As a result, he'd been staying back as much as possible and helping his family whenever he could before fading back into the shadows.

Some might say he was being completely paranoid, but that only applied if the universe wasn't out to get you, and Blues would need a lot more convincing before he believed that.

Everything was different from how he somehow knew it was supposed to be. There seemed to be no Dr. Wily fomenting robot revolutions. Instead, there was a mysterious organization calling itself Dark Sigma that was doing it instead, each of its major agents going by a 'model' designation plus a letter, with minor agents getting 'model' plus a number, and never identifying their leader as anything other than 'Model W'.

They'd started out as human agents who hacked into robot command relays, but they'd been easily rounded up by Dr. Light's industrial robot masters led by Rock and Roll. Only afterwards were any of the agents robot masters themselves.

Robot masters that had been subverted by Dr. Wily in the original timeline he remembered – even when the world didn't – had proven to be formidable allies this time. Dr. Cossack and his line of robot masters had been instrumental in turning back the assault of the immensely powerful 'Model R', also known to him as Ra Thor, and the sociopathic alien supercomputer that backed it up. The World Robot Tournament contestants had been all too willing to help fight back 'Model D', a human known as Reverend Dark turned robot that he recognized as Dark Man; 'Model K', the King of Robots; and 'Model B', once known to him as Bass and Treble; along with their various lieutenants.

Later, everyone had needed to band together to turn back the immensely powerful 'Model T', who was clearly a version of the alien robot Terra from his memories, and his ridiculously powerful stardroids. But the most devastating had been the hellish pair known only as 'Model Z' and 'Model X' – the latter looking disturbingly like a more mature Rock in some respects – and it had taken the lives of numerous allied robot masters before they fell. Some of the IC chips of the fallen had been completely destroyed.

More interesting was how his brother and sister were acting.

Rock seemed perpetually confused. He weathered the stress of war much better than Blues recalled, and the only things that threw him off were the more mundane instances that Blues knew to be radically different from the original timeline.

Roll on the other hand was perpetually jumpy, like she expected an attack from any source at any time. But unlike Blues himself, she didn't seem frightened for herself, but for others. Everywhere she went, she subtly positioned herself between others and potential threats, with the one given priority being Rock. She seemed convinced that if she didn't have his back at all times he would be killed by a surprise attack, and thus anything that tried to hurt her brother was eliminated with extreme prejudice.

He dared to hope that they remembered things that happened before as well, but his memories of the nightmare he'd experienced between the original timeline and now held him back. The horrors he might suffer were he wrong bound him more thoroughly than his jealousy and pride ever had.

But the one thing that captured everyone's interest was a human named ***ERROR*** that would normally not have been given a second glance. They were a fairly average individual and an intern at the Cronos Institute. Not particularly valuable a target, especially given the more senior and lauded members at the Chronos Institute, but they were involved in every single attack and seemed to be a priority target for Dark Sigma.

Blues had no memory of this human from the original timeline, but he _knew_, somehow, that the intern was vitally important.

Which made the fact that they'd just been kidnapped by some Boba Fett wannabe called 'Model V' especially worrying.

He'd followed his siblings as they tracked the kidnapper to what looked like a large warehouse, determined to back them up while their other allies were suppressing the attacks elsewhere meant to smokescreen the kidnapping. He hid in the rafters and waited for his moment while Rock and Roll confronted the vile Model V.

Model V's primary weapon seemed to be a shoulder-mounted cannon, and while it was an atypical design the weapon was immensely powerful and the robot's purple armor and other physical abilities were clearly in the same class as the hellish duo Model Z and Model X.

But his brother and sister were no slouches themselves, and they'd learned plenty fighting the aforementioned robots. Model V might be faster, stronger, and tougher, but he had nowhere near his sibling's combat experience or skill and it showed.

Unfortunately, a lucky blow had stunned Roll and a well-timed grab had immobilized Rock. Model V was now charging up his shoulder cannon for a point-blank shot that would surely kill his brother.

Blues knew the time to act was now.

A precision sniper-shot to the helmet got Model V's attention nicely and Rock took full advantage of the distraction. He brought his arm cannon up in a manner that would put quickdraw artists to shame and fired his own charged shot.

Straight down the barrel of Model V's shoulder-mounted cannon.

The explosion took Model V's arm off at the shoulder and hurled Rock back several meters from the force. It looked as if Model V would recover before Rock did, but unluckily for him, Roll wouldn't allow him the advantage. The Crash Bomb she fired hit perfectly on the damaged portion of Model V's torso, and the explosion decimated the delicate internal systems that were now unprotected by armor.

The sound of slow applause filled the warehouse.

"Excellent," a voice said and Blues froze in horror. He didn't hear the following statement at all. He was too lost in a terrible memory where Dr. Light was acting... not like Dr. Light. The not-Dr. Light had said that very word in that very voice. He hadn't been able to place the voice then.

But he did now.

Further musings were cut off as he was pumped full of electrical voltage and plummeted from his position in the rafters as a result. He fell, and kept falling past where the floor should have been. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the far-away scene of the warehouse roof as a shadow closed ominously below it.

When Blues came to, he knew he was restrained. His arms and legs were bound in an 'X' formation and impossible to move. Opening his eyes, he saw that his brother and sister were similarly bound. Their placement around the room formed a triangle, each of them facing the center where the human intern ***ERROR*** dangled from the ceiling. Taking a look around, Blues realized they were all hooked up to a giant machine, their bindings part of some sort of circuit.

The purpose of it was beyond his experience, but Blues was willing to bet everything that it wasn't good.

"Welcome," the voice from before stated, no longer sounding like it was broadcasted. The owner of the voice was in this room. "Welcome to the headquarters of my little organization. I am so glad that you all could finally join me."

Blues shivered at the familiar voice and looked towards the figure as he stepped into the light. He was different. He had what looked like a small red gem in the middle of his forehead, his hair seemed more blue than the expected gray, his eyes were hidden behind a pair of angular shades that still failed to hide how crazed his expression was, he was dressed more finely than Blues remembered, and he had a skull-topped cane that was clearly for appearances only, but still Blues could never have mistaken him for anyone else.

"Yes, it is I, Model W, the leader of Dark Sigma, the Regal King, Dr. ALBERT! _WEIL! __**WILY!**_"

The expressions of the four captives were vastly different. ***ERROR*** clearly had no idea who his captor was, Rock was characteristically defiant, Roll was surprisingly murderous, and Blues?

Blues was scared out of his mind.

Not only was this the owner of the voice that haunted his nightmares, there was a definitive feeling of... _wrongness_ about the mad doctor. Whether he was the same Dr. Wily as the original timeline didn't matter. All Blues was certain of was that this version of the man _wasn't supposed to exist_.

They were all in very real danger.

"Oh, it was quite the puzzle on how to get what I needed, but lo and behold, the three of you had it all along!" Wily cackled.

"And this boy..." he continued, a sinister grin splitting his face. "Why this boy is the very key to my escape from this universal prison. This infinity of repeating time."

***ERROR***'s eyes widened as they slowly turned to stare at the doctor in horror.

"Oh, yes," Wily chuckled. "I know all about that. And I knew, the moment you came into my territory, that you were the key to my escape. My key to becoming the master of all creation! Why do you think I have spent so much effort on capturing a nobody like yourself? The indescribable essence that allows you to retain awareness and ability as time repeats itself is what I need."

***ERROR*** pleaded something back at the doctor that Blues couldn't quite make out.

"Oh, but I _can_," Wily sneered. "What do I care if your entire universe is erased as a result? My destiny awaits you pathetic fool!"

Wily turned sharply and strode to a control panel. "No more meaningless prattle! We begin immediately!" And with that, Wily threw a switch.

Energy hummed, and a strain that Blues couldn't remember feeling before, but yet recognized permeated everything. It was like the strain felt right before one of his nightmare lives had abruptly ended. He hadn't noticed the feeling those times, but experiencing it now, he somehow knew that it had happened. What was happening now was the same thing, only far greater.

The energy reached a pitch and suddenly his brother spasmed like he'd been impaled on something. The straining feeling jumped in intensity at the same time and didn't lessen. The energy rose in pitch again and the same thing happened with his sister, her face frozen in pain as the feeling of strain nearly doubled in intensity.

The energy rose once again, and Blues struggles, knowing he was next. Even then, he wasn't prepared for what he would swear was the feeling of a rod of utter wrongness being rammed straight through his soul.

The energy crackled madly, matching the doctor, as it began to probe ***ERROR***. Each zap and spark that touched them set off a scream of agony like they were being ripped apart, and Blues was certain that in some way, they were.

The feeling of strain was practically screaming now, and Blues suddenly knew what it was. _Reality didn't like what was happening._ It didn't like it one bit, and it was attempting to fight back against the unnatural thing the doctor was attempting.

The energy of the machine began to rise in pitch until it too was screaming, and Wily suddenly looked uncertain. Like the resistance to his machine wasn't planned for. He began to rant and rail something, until a stray bolt of energy from the machine struck him. And then Wily himself began screaming.

The screams of Wily, ***ERROR***, the machine, and reality itself mingled until they couldn't be differentiated from each other.

Blues knew that, eventually, something had to give.

And then something did.

_***CRASH***_


	5. Loop 1 Part 1: Once More, From the Top

Mega Loop 1.0 - Part 1: Once More, From the Top

* * *

Yggdrasil Log: Loop activation attempt 1 using experimental procedure:

"NO! –" Rock's protest died on his lips as he blinked. He'd been about to call out a name, except he hit an error when trying to actually speak it. He remembered there was... someone who was being hurt. Badly. But for the life of him, the name wouldn't come. He checked his memory, revealing multiple lifetimes worth of memory errors so clear he would have almost sworn they were multiple lifetimes worth of actual memories. (1)

But the last one... The last one had this gaping person-shaped hole in it. Rock could remember everything around this person clearly, but the person themselves? It was like they hadn't actually existed. Rock couldn't recall their appearance, age, voice, what they wore, or even their gender.

Roll came into his room and looked at him oddly.

"Sorry, Roll," he said sheepishly. "Bad... dream? I think? Dad never said if we could. But there was... someone being hurt and I was trying to call their name, but it's not actually in my memory banks. Weird, huh?"

Roll's eyes widened, and Rock thought she might actually be shaking a little. "You too?"

"Huh?" Rock blinked in confusion.

"You..." Roll shook visibly, "remember a life where there... used to be a person, but now there's a..."

"Hole?" Rock offered, not daring to believe what he was hearing. "You..."

"I'm so sorry!" Roll tackled her brother in a weeping hug. "I couldn't protect you! I couldn't save you fro–"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Rock raised his hands in a 'stop' gesture. "Protect me from what? People and robots being in the wrong places? Musically talented robot masters? The world generally crashing because of weirdness?"

Roll opened her mouth, and then closed it. She released her brother and took a moment to center herself. "From dying, you idiot."

Now it was Rock's turn to repeat his sister's gesture. "I... don't recall dying. I came close a few times, but no closer than usual. Mostly it was just weirdness. Like existing as a video game and chasing Wily out into the 'real world' and then listening to him boast about being a ninja."

"I had a few like that," Roll admitted. "The first time, I somehow ended up in a fight with Cut Man and I tried to shoot him with a toaster. Then I was somewhere that had a personal vendetta against my clothes. After that we were all on Hawaii instead of here and I dressed like a hula girl 24/7 and never wondered why until right at the end. The time after that, I watched Wily march on the city with your head on a pike."

"Oh," was all Rock could say.

"It just kept getting worse. Instead of Xander, I ended up fighting some religious fanatic who worshipped robots as living gods and had his brain surgically extracted into Dark Man. I failed to protect an entire concert when Wily reprogrammed the band to slaughter them. I watched Terra murder you. And then there was Waltz..." Roll shuddered and Rock decided not to ask about it.

"Is that why you were so protective of me that last time?" Rock asked instead, getting a nod.

"I'm never letting you fight alone again," Roll stated vehemently. "I could never live with myself if I stood on the sidelines while you got hurt because I didn't act."

Rock sat silently for a minute. Even discounting the madness he'd lived through, multiple times it seemed, he'd never wish this kind of life on anyone. But Roll had apparently been thrust into it anyway, and he had to admit that Roll had saved his life a number of times the last go-round. She was every bit as capable as he'd ever been.

"Then I guess I'll rock," he offered his hand to his sister.

She grasped it firmly in a warrior's handshake, grinning at his offered pun. "And I'll roll."

* * *

Dr. Light stared at both of his children in astonishment. "You're both sure?"

Rock and Roll nodded in unison.

"Neither of us want to hurt anyone, human or robot," Rock told their father. "But it seems like Dr. Wily doesn't feel the same way."

"We'd prefer a peaceful solution," Roll continued, "but I don't think there is one."

"We know you don't want to build fighting robots anymore," Rock picked up, "and if we can get the others to stop without fighting we will. But–"

"If we have to fight," Roll finished, "then we have to fight."

Dr. Light sighed heavily, his expression going a little odd at their united speech.

"You're right," the scientist replied with a bit of confusion in his voice. "You're both absolutely right."

* * *

The city was in flames and both Rock and Roll, along with Elec Man and their new friends Tempo and Pharaoh Man, were too occupied rescuing people from the blaze to do anything about the source.

Somehow, both Xander Payne's anti-robot terrorist group, the Emerald Spears, and Reverend Dark's fanatical robot-worshipping cult had shown up at the robot expo. The speed at which the city effectively became a war zone rivaled anything Dr. Wily had pulled in _any_ of their lives. (2)

* * *

"Blues!" the joint cry caused the red robot to stop in his tracks.

He'd been in an impossible position. He'd needed his energy core repaired if he wanted to continue living, and the only two he knew could do it he couldn't bring himself to trust. So he'd stopped thinking about it and just let himself walk.

He'd ended up at the Lanfront ruins. Again.

Where Dr. Wily patched him up and upgraded his systems. Again.

And no alterations to his mind.

It seemed his subconscious knew who was more trustworthy to repair him. So why did it hurt so much?

"Do you..." Roll, in yellow armor like her brothers', except molded for a female frame, looked hopeful.

"Do you remember a life where there was a person-shaped hole?" Rock finished for her.

Blues blinked behind his full-face mask. "Yes," he admitted reluctantly. He was only mildly surprised that the two of them remembered it as well.

"Do you remember any lifetimes before then?" Roll asked eagerly. "Rock and I have two completely different sets of me–"

_Far easier to remove the unnecessary subroutines..._

**"I don't want to talk about it,"** Blues cut her off rudely. (3)

* * *

Hephaestus was distracted from observing the Loop activation attempt by a tone from his intercom.

"Hermes and company here to see you, sir," Herfjötur's voice called to him. Blast it all.

"Better go see what he wants," Brynhildr said from where she sat next to him. "No telling what a Trickster will get up to if you leave them to their own devices for too long."

That got him moving a little faster. He didn't want his office repainted in some garish color scheme that his wife thought was 'in' lately. And he knew that Hermes was fully capable of doing it right under his nose.

He entered the outer office, and saw Hermes with a pair of nymphs who seemed to be dressed in nurses' uniforms. Hermes was a patron of doctors and would never profane the profession, even for a gag. Which meant the nymphs had to actually be trained as nurses.

"Hermes," Hephaestus pinched the bridge of his nose, "how long have you been training nymphs as nursing staff? And why have you brought two to my office?"

"Longer than anyone thinks," Eir said from her spot napping by the wall.

"Traveler's rule 65: Never upstage a decent host," Hermes smirked.

Hephaestus facepalmed as the valkyries roared with laughter. Hermes had pretty much just said that he'd brought _only_ two nymphs because Hephaestus was personally hosting three valkyries. He was about to fire back a cutting remark when he caught a familiar smell.

"Hermes..." he growled dangerously.

"We brought popcorn!" the god of travel grinned, pulling out a full subspace bowl of the foodstuff.

"Did you use my forge to make that?"

"Duh," Hermes rolled his eyes. "How _else_ was I supposed to get the most divine smokey flavor in all of creation?"

Hephaestus caught himself halfway to an angry retort. He'd used his forge for cooking more than once, and it did give the food an amazing smokey flavor. "Huh... Good point."

"I thought so," Hermes grinned. "Anyway, we're here to watch the activation attempt with you. I even brought my remote terminal in case something goes wrong."

"What makes you think anything will go wrong?" Hephaestus asked, curiosity edging out the challenge in his voice.

"Your track record," Hermes returned bluntly. (4)

Hephaestus winced and acknowledged the point. His bad luck was almost as legendary as his smithy skills. It was the reason he'd sworn never to gamble.

"Anyway, why don't you invite the rest of your ladies to join us and we'll make a party of it," Hermes suggested. "Not like you haven't gone without an active secretary before and the more the merrier."

And with that, everyone had filed in and arranged themselves a bit cozily, not that anyone seemed to complain, to observe the proceedings.

"You have all three of them active?" Hermes raised an eyebrow. Hephaestus knew he wasn't referring to the valkyries. "You realize how risky that is, right?"

"Better than most," Hephaestus admitted, "but I'm not exactly swimming in options here."

"Well," Hermes offered the god of the forge some popcorn, "here's hoping it works."

"Thanks."

* * *

Roll wasn't entirely sure how it had happened, but instead of her lying about to die from Ra Moon's EMP wave, it was Tempo. Blues hadn't crashed the dedication ceremony of Mega City – this time jointly for both Mega Man (her brother) and Mega Woman (herself) – but the Emerald Spears _had_.

The result had been utter chaos, and both she and Rock had their hands full trying to get everyone to safety when she'd heard Dr. Lalinde scream out Tempo's name. She hadn't even known the two were still in town, but Tempo had a smoking hole in her back and looked like she'd taken a shot meant for Dr. Lalinde, the shooter nowhere to be seen.

And then the EMP had hit and she'd blacked out.

She'd heard later that the Emerald Spears had fled when Blues, once again immune to the global EMP field, showed up and showed no compunction about firing on them if they didn't hightail it out of there. It didn't stop the Emerald Spears from running around the city afterwards claiming that the event was divine providence in favor of their cause, but it had probably saved a lot of people's lives, including hers.

After she, Rock, Guts Man, Cut Man, Bomb Man, Rush, and Tango had been treated with something that could block Ra Moon's EMP field, they'd gone to the Lanfront Ruins. Once there, Blues had intervened on their behalf with Dr. Wily's first set of original robot masters and enlisted their aid rather than she, Rock, and Dr. Light's robot masters having to fight them first. It had still taken them time to work their way towards Ra Moon's lair, battling with the mind-controlled second set of Dr. Wily's robot masters along the way, and the chaos of the ensuing melee was nothing short of total.

Dr. Wily himself had shown up with Ra Thor, who Ra Moon promptly took control of, and when Ra Moon declared it was done 'playing' with them and shut off Dr. Wily's loyal robot masters, Roll simply lost it.

She'd managed to fuel up on a number of weapons from all sets of robot masters in preparation of this fight and she'd unloaded _all_ of them on Ra Thor. It had barely been enough.

But, of course, Ra Moon couldn't leave it at that. It had to create its own version of the Yellow Devil and set it on them. She'd been too exhausted to dodge its eye-laser and had been blasted into the wall. That had set Rock off, and he was doing his best to obliterate the Ra Devil despite its personal protective energy field while Blues and the remaining Light robot masters held off Ra Moon's remaining forces.

It was then that a ragged and worn-out Dr. Wily had worked his way over to her.

"Dr. Wily?" she asked groggily.

"There's no time!" the doctor whispered frantically. "Please listen closely! Ra Moon has tipped his hand! Rock's made several direct hits to the control eye of Ra Devil, and they all should have done _something_, but there's been no effect at all. That tells me that Ra Moon is _directly_ powering Ra Devil! The energy protecting Ra Devil from harm is energy Ra Moon cannot use to protect itself! His defenses can now be breached!"

"So..." Roll gathered her thoughts and tried to remember how Rock had told her this went in their original life. "Let Rock keep Ra Devil busy while I line up a shot at Ra Moon."

"Yes!" Dr. Wily hissed. "You'll likely only get one shot, so you _cannot_ miss or Ra Moon will crush us all personally!"

"Right," she replied as she shifted both arms to cannon mode. "I'm gonna need to time this just right."

"T-two...?" Dr. Wily stuttered in confusion. "But your power matrix can't support two Mega Buster Cannons!"

The image of Tempo lying where she would have been otherwise crossed her mind. "I'm aware of that."

"Your body wasn't built for that kind of output! You'll tear yourself to shreds!"

"I'm aware of that," Roll let a tear slide down her face as she remembered the state Rock had been after this in the original timeline.

"You–"

"Dr. Wily..." Roll interrupted. "If there's anything left of me that can be repaired... If my IC chip is still intact... Take it back to Dr. Light."

She took a deep breath and centered herself, feeling the charge build up in both arms. Almost ready.

"And tell my brothers I'm sorry."

She waited until a flash from Ra Devil's laser obscured visibility before leaping to her feet and firing at Ra Moon with both barrels. She felt her arms shatter from the overload, but as she fell to the sound of Ra Moon's death cry, she couldn't help but smile. (5)

* * *

"She's okay," Hephaestus let out a sigh of relief. "They got her repaired."

Hermes wiped some sweat from his forehead as well. Death by in-loop events wasn't generally a problem for Anchors, but having one die prematurely during an activation attempt, especially one _this_ critical? That would be bad (6). And since all the threats so far faced were native to the universe, and of no danger to anything outside it, they were expressly forbidden from interfering.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing on Hermes' mind right now.

"You know, I was certain that the cross with Sonic's Loop would have happened by now..."

"If I was willing to accept a 10% drop in activation success, it would have," Hephaestus replied sardonically.

Hermes winced. A 1 in 5 chance of failure versus a 1 in 10 chance of failure? Yeah, he knew which option he'd choose too.

"I arranged the tandem scenario so they'll cross later in Rock's timeline," Hephaestus continued, "when Dr. Wily has no reason to rewrite the timeline to a later point in order to gain access to his full army."

Ah, that _would_ put a fair strain on the system during a Loop activation. Especially when the Loop in question was barely holding together as it was.

* * *

Roll found her brother brooding in an empty room of the lab. "Rock? Are you okay? Look, I'm sorry about what happened with Ra Moon, but–"

"It's not that," Rock interrupted.

"Huh?" Roll blinked.

"Roll, I won't lie to you," Rock admitted. "You scared the heck out of me when you nearly killed yourself taking out Ra Moon, but I knew the risks you were taking when you signed up to fight as well. After all, they're the same risks I've taken every life I've lived and I accepted the fact that you'll be taking them as well this time. And that you've been taking them for a while already. I'm good with that."

"Then," Roll digested all that for a moment, "what's got you so worked up?"

Rock sighed. "You remember the robot expo? The one where the Emerald Spears and the Church of Robotic Superiority tried to kill each other?"

Roll gave her brother a flat look. "Who could possibly forget?"

"Well," Rock rubbed his head sheepishly at his sister's retort, "before they started shooting, I was trying to think of a way to stop them from hurting anyone and I realized something."

"What?"

"There wasn't anything stopping me from hurting them first," he admitted. "Our safeguards against harming lifeforms, the 'first law of robotics', weren't there anymore. I was so shocked that I missed it when they started shooting at each other. I checked my coding, and found the other 'laws' were also gone. I don't have to obey anyone, even Dr. Light, and there's nothing stopping me from self-terminating aside from my personal desire to live."

"Are you sure?" Roll looked apprehensive. "How could that be possible?"

"I don't know how it's possible, but it's true," Rock stated morosely. "I-I actually have full Free Will. You and Blues probably do too. I have no idea what's happening to us."

"I–" Roll wanted to state that she didn't believe it, but some part of her was insisting that it was the truth. "I have to test this."

Roll ran from the room before her brother could say anything to stop her. She found Dr. Light very quickly and ran to him.

"Dr. Light!" she called, grabbing him firmly by the hand and began tugging. "I think there's something wrong!"

"Ow," Dr. Light muttered as his daughter gripped a little tighter and tugged just a little harder than was comfortable for him. "Roll, calm down! What's the matter?"

The grip just tightened as Roll tugged even harder.

"Ah!" the scientist gasped as he felt something bruise slightly. "Roll! Let go! I can't help you if you injure me by accident!"

The grip got even tighter and the tugging even harder.

"ROLL!" Dr. Light yelped as it felt like the bones in his hand were about to crack, and he was suddenly released.

Roll took several steps back, staring blankly at the bruised hand of her father.

Dr. Light rubbed his sore hand as he looked at his daughter. He suddenly realized that she looked very scared of something.

"Roll?" he asked with concern, the pain in his hand forgotten. All that mattered to him right now was soothing whatever was causing his daughter such anguish. "Is everything alright?"

* * *

"Good," Hephaestus nodded to himself. "They're getting this out of the way now. Best to discover this new trait about themselves sooner rather than later."

"How exactly did you pull this off?" Hermes asked. "I thought only sapient, free willed entities with completely realized souls could even be considered for looping."

"Technically, I didn't," Hephaestus admitted. "Yggdrasil did. Somewhere in the branch are versions of those three who fit that description and are part of the greater identity code used to generate Loop memories, so Yggdrasil brought that code to full prominence in their individual core coding to ensure that such will always be the case when they Loop."

* * *

Dr. Light looked at his children with kindness and understanding. What they had told him was beyond belief, but it was also very clearly true. His children had true and honest Free Will, and they were scared to death of the implications.

"It'll be alright," he said.

"But Dr. Light!" Rock insisted. "We can hurt people now! We're a danger to everyone around us! It's not safe to keep us active and–"

Dr. Light cut Rock off with a simple raise of his hand. "Rock, every human being alive is a potential danger to others. We can all choose to do harm to each other as easily as we can choose anything else in our lives. But yet almost all of us are capable of living without becoming a danger to anyone around us, because we have learned moral behavior. Just like the two of you have."

He drew them both into a hug, ignoring the bruising on his hand where Roll had gripped him to test the truth of her Free Will. He couldn't fault her for that. He was a scientist, and knew the importance of testing hypotheses, and despite her design, Roll was very much his daughter. Of course she would need verification before she trusted the revelation.

"But I hurt you!" Roll cried. "And I didn't stop even when I knew you were in pain!"

"Roll," Dr. Light comforted his children, "I would have gladly born this pain a thousand times over if it meant I could ease the pain of my children by even the slightest amount. You are the ones who are hurting the most right now, not me."

His words were the honest truth, and he hoped that his children understood that.

"I remember a movie in my youth," Dr. Light told them. "Assuming I recall it correctly, one of the characters said to another that 'after you live your whole life in a cage, the whole world can seem like a very big place'. That is what you are feeling now. You have been let out of the cage formed by the 'laws of robotics' and given true freedom for the first time in your lives. It is amazing, wonderful, and miraculous. But it is also very terrifying." (7)

Roll sniffed. "But, it's too much! How can we deal with this?"

"One day at a time, Roll," Dr. Light answered. "That's all you can do with much of life I'm afraid. Understand that the enormity of Free Will can overwhelm even humans, who have had their entire lives to get used to it. The prospect of being able to choose anything is simply too vast at times to contemplate."

Dr. Light waited for a moment while his children digested this.

"But we have learned to adapt and live with it," he told them. "It is a part of who we are, and now it is a part of who you are, even if I never understand how it came about. You have the power to choose now my children, and no greater power has ever been granted to anyone."

"But," Rock protested, "what if we choose wrong?"

"Then you learn," Dr. Light told him, "and choose better the next time. I have faith in you both."

* * *

"Hey, Rock?" Roll called to her brother. This set of robot masters was... odd in a way she couldn't put her finger on. The nine robot masters and the one they supposedly served – and she hadn't yet discounted the idea that Wily was behind everything – hadn't happened in any of her weird lives. The original timeline on the other hand... She couldn't really recall them in it, but she also couldn't quite shake the idea that they'd been there. "Do you remember these guys and their master CRORQ from the original timeline?"

Rock started to answer her, only to get a look of confusion on his own face.

"You know... I'm not sure...?" (8)

* * *

"Because of you, we _have_ to be," the green armored robot with the blue shades, yellow eyebrow-horns, and the jackhammer/pogo-stick from hell declared. "Without you two, there is no us. Let the time stream figure out the rest."

"Aw," giggled the tanned female robot in the dark navy and cream armor – complete with neon pink 'W' on the helmet – next to him, "don't be so melodramatic Quint! Stop pretending like we're them from the future! You know that's just to mess with their heads! And they're clearly not buying it, so why don't we get on with things and kill them messily? It'll be so much fun!"

Quint scowled at his companion. "Cease your inane prattle Waltz. We were reprogrammed to serve Dr. Wily faithfully and that is what we will do."

Waltz ignored him and turned towards their opponents. "See what I have to deal with? How can I get on with lovely, sweet murder when I'm saddled with such a killjoy?"

Rock just turned to his sister, who had been shaking ever so slightly since they'd walked through the door to see Dr. Wily's little duo. "You okay?" he whispered.

"I'll be fine," she whispered back. "Just need to calm myself."

"Tell you what..." Rock offered. "Why don't we switch partners this time? They're clearly each designed to get under our skins, so let's shake _them_ up instead."

"Rock, you don't understand what she's like..." Roll started.

"I know she hurt my sister badly enough to–" Rock was cut off by an energy blast that forced him and Roll to jump away from each other.

"Quiet talky time is over!" Waltz grinned maniacally as she charged for Roll. "Happy fun killing time has begun!"

"Come, Sakugarne!" cried Quint as he hopped on his support unit and leapt high into the air so he could rain energy down on Rock.

Rock wasn't having any of this. He ignored Quint and cut across the room to intercept Waltz with a punch to the face that sent her skidding across the floor.

"Roll!" he yelled to his sister. "Keep Quint busy while I deal with her!"

Roll only nodded and turned to face Quint, who seemed confused.

"This..." Quint's face contorted in bafflement. "This isn't how this goes..."

"Rock and I aren't slaves to Fate," Roll retorted, readying her broom-staff that Dr. Light had made for her recently.

Across the room, Waltz was throwing a fit.

"No! Nonononono! You don't do that!" she screamed as she fired rapid shots from her finger cannons at her unexpected foe. "You don't hit me! I shoot up your sister while Quint carves you to pieces! That's how this wo–" a buster shot to the face cut her off.

"I'm changing the rules," Rock told her.

Waltz, half her face missing from the blast, charged at Rock while screaming incoherently. (9)

* * *

The ladies had stuck around for a while at the beginning, but as Hephaestus and Hermes began talking shop regarding the happenings in the activation attempt before them, they began drifting in and out and chatting amongst themselves.

That wasn't what was happening right now.

The nymphs Hermes had brought with him were hiding behind Hephaestus's desk while the valkyries were all out in the outer office trying to get rid of an unwanted visitor. A visitor known as Aphrodite, wife of Hephaestus and the one individual he hated more than any other.

The facts of their very final breakup were a bit sketchy, but it was known that after millennia of Hephaestus forging himself into a lover that Aphrodite could declare worthy, he'd realized that it would never be good enough. Aphrodite could never see past his average looks, imperfect form, or unromantic trade. Nor would she ever admit that the concept of Love and romance she championed could realistically continue to exist between a married couple. In short, he could become a better lover than all of the love gods combined, and she would still never be satisfied.

When he realized this, the passion that he'd kept burning for his lovely wife for so long had turned into a smoldering hate.

But, of course, Aphrodite wouldn't stand for her husband telling her that he despised her and never wanted to see her again.

When Hephaestus tried to break it off with Aphrodite, the Wrath of a Love Turned to Hate had clashed with the Fury of a Woman Scorned, and the latter had been knocked flat on its arse.

Too bad Aphrodite was never one to accept a lesson she didn't like.

She'd been looking for ways to browbeat her husband ever since, and Hermes had taken it upon himself to try and thwart them as best he could. The valkyries were his latest scheme, and something of a desperation gambit. Aphrodite may fight dirty, but her attitude made her no friends among the female warriors of the divine realm. And these female warriors were under the protection of the Aesir, a pantheon that had absolutely no fear of the Olympians. The valkyries would happily take any excuse to twist Aphrodite into a pretzel, goddess first class or no.

Hermes respected Hephaestus, and knew that he didn't deserve what would happen if he had another confrontation with his wife. She was bound and determined to browbeat her husband until he snapped completely, forgetting that underneath the Smith was a Force of Nature.

And causing volcano gods to snap _never_ ended well.

As much as Aphrodite might deserve such a fate, Hermes didn't want to see his friend hauled in front of the Justice Gods for murdering his wife (10). And so, he was determined to keep Hephaestus distracted.

"What's up with Quint's code?" he asked, casually ignoring the muffled harridan screeches coming through the door.

"Quint got flagged by Yggdrasil as a severe Paradox risk," Hephaestus replied, clearly grateful for something else to focus on. "His greater code was a bit of a mess, with almost half of the known instances being a legitimate future version of Rock himself."

Hermes winced at the implications of that. (11)

"Obviously we can't have multiple yet distinct instances of a potential Anchor or looper from different periods of the timeline running around regularly," the smith god explained, "especially fighting each other to the death, so Quint's code needed to be adjusted. He still has some code that will rarely manifest him as a future version of Rock from an alternate timeline, but the rest of his original code is a clone of Rock made with technology from the future and merely programmed to _think_ he's a future version of Rock. It helped that I stabilized his remaining code by combining it with the code from a Mega Man Shadow who is similar enough to Quint that their codes already overlapped significantly."

"How about that Waltz character," Hermes continued as sounds of a scuffle were heard through the door. "What's her story? Her code seems a little... viral."

Hephaestus winced. "It _is_ viral, but I can't fix it. When Roll took her brother's place as the hero in the attempts to Anchor through her, Yggdrasil reconciled some of her brother's main battles a little differently. It couldn't activate a version of Quint as her future counterpart since she isn't her brother, so it searched deep into the variants for some code it could use in place of Quint and found Waltz. Her code is definitely infected, but it's also corrupted enough that I can't tell where the virus ends and she begins. And Yggdrasil insists on using her as Roll's future counterpart for some reason. It's really quite maddening."

The door to the outer office opened and Eir strode in, dusting her hands off. "Sorry for leaving so suddenly like that. Needed to take the trash out. I left the others guarding the door to prevent further interruptions."

"Thank you," Hephaestus replied, clearly grateful.

* * *

It had been a very long year, Blues thought to himself.

After the incident at the Chronos Institute, it had looked like things were settling down, but Blues knew better. He'd made friends with the Cossacks and tried to head off Kalinka's kidnapping only to fail. At his advice, Dr. Cossack had instructed his robot masters to use no lethal force and fight to delay Rock and Roll only.

Even with his knowledge of the original timeline, he had barely managed to rescue Kalinka in time to stop her father from doing something drastic.

After that, Reverend Dark had apparently had his brain installed in Dark Man (Blues still shuddered at the disturbing concept) and tried to frame Blues for setting the latest invasion of robot masters on the world. Too bad for him that Blues had been hanging out in a coffee shop near city hall with his brother and sister when the man's live broadcast came on, so all sorts of witnesses, up to and including Mayor L. Dorado, vouched for him.

It was shortly after that incident had been resolved – Dr. Wily behind everything again – that Dr. Cossack had called him and asked him to stop by. It was something he didn't recall happening at all in the original timeline, and Blues had to admit to being intrigued enough to humor the man.

"Ah, welcome Blues!" the Russian scientist proclaimed as the robot in question entered the lab. "Right on time! I just put the finishing touches on Beat here."

_'Beat?'_ Blues wondered. Sure, he knew that Dr. Cossack had developed the bird robot jointly with Dr. Light, but the bird belonged to his brother. Didn't it?

"I'm glad you came," Dr. Cossack continued. "It would have been a shame if we couldn't get Beat here registered to you. Again."

Blues blinked in surprise, though the motion was thankfully hidden behind his shades.

"Oh, yes," Dr. Cossack chuckled, somehow sensing the robot's surprise anyway, "Beat was always meant to be your companion instead of your brother's. But, sadly, you never stuck around long enough for me to give him to you. It saddens me that the one I owe everything to for saving my daughter's life has never allowed me to present him with proper thanks."

Blues wanted to apologize, but what he found himself saying instead was: "You were saying something about finishing touches?"

"Yes," Dr. Cossack replied good naturedly. "Dr. Light sent me some notes about upgrades he was giving to the companions of your siblings, and in the nature of competitive robotics scientists such as us, I simply couldn't let myself be outdone. Although, I unfortunately missed the chance to name the type of upgrades I installed. But, come, come! Let us get Beat registered to you and get your upgrades installed so you can take full advantage of Beat's."

Blues allowed the Russian doctor to work on him, but only if he remained conscious for the process. It was paranoid, he was certain, since Mikhail Cossack was the only doctor he currently believed to be fully trustworthy, but it was also the only way he could go through with it and not suffer a panic attack. In short order, the upgrades were installed and Beat was registered as his companion support unit.

"Now," Dr. Cossack rubbed his hands in anticipation, "please activate Beat's super adapter."

"Beat," Blues commanded. "Super adapter."

Beat's flew towards Blues and his body shifted around the larger robot, forming torso armor over Blues's normal armor. Blues could feel the flight systems now on his back and the unique weapons data that came with it. He opened his eyes and looked into a mirror the doctor had set up so he could observe himself and found a blue and white-armored Proto Man–

_After all, I'm the latest model. New and improved in every way. The son Dr. Light really wanted all along._

–staring right back at him.

"There's also a special weapon attachment for your buster," Dr. Cossack continued. "Just reach the barrel over your shoulder to your back to connect it."

Blues did so and when he brought his buster back around, it looked like it had Beat's beak attached to the end. He ran some energy through it, and was only mildly surprised to see a solid sword blade materialize from the weapon. It might be larger than the Rolling Cutter or Metal Blade, but the principles of its formation were the same.

"Like it?" Cossack grinned and adjusted his glasses. "You already had the shield, and Kalinka's been calling you her 'knight in shining armor' ever since you saved her. I thought you should perhaps look the part."

Blues tested the heft and feel of the weapon. The way it cut through the air with ease. He smiled.

"It's perfect." (12)

* * *

"Are the cat ears on her helmet intentional?" Rock inquired curiously as he took in Roll and Tango's super adapter form. Green and white actually wasn't a bad look for Roll, and the claws on her fingertips seemed somehow fitting.

"Not... entirely," Dr. Light admitted. "Sometimes I zone out a bit when designing, and end up including some rather interesting extras. What do you think, Roll?"

Roll had been examining herself over, and noted that her current super adapter mode with Tango was a little different than the one that had been designed for her in her solo lives. However, she felt like the differences were pleasant improvements rather than detractions. For one, she felt a little less like a female copy of her brother in it.

"I love it! Nyah!" Roll purred, before realizing what she'd said and clapped her hands over her mouth in embarrassment. _That_ had been unexpected.

"Oh, dear," Dr. Light worried. "I was afraid of that. Tango's programming was a little problematic when I was installing the upgrades and it looks like there's some personality leakage. Don't worry, it should go away when you disengage."

"Please tell me you can fix it!" Roll mewled pitifully.

"I'll do my best," her father placated, "but you know Tango's feline personality isn't exactly the most cooperative."

Rock was doing his best not to laugh. He really was. (13)

* * *

"That is some seriously buggy code there, man," Hermes observed. Not the Roll girl's problems – those were entirely the mortal programming of her and her cat, and pretty dang funny in his opinion – but that of her father, Dr. Light.

"Tell me about it," Hephaestus groused. Dr. Light wasn't supposed to invent the super adapters until _after_ the world robot tournament, not this far in advance of it. Right now, he should have been in the middle of developing a couple of prototype designs that would eventually produce the super adapters, not presenting the final products to his children. So he'd examined Dr. Light's code and found a buggy section that refused his attempts to fix it.

"It's bad enough that my three Anchor candidates have Loop memory bugs accessing the failed activation attempt logs," he continued, ignoring Hermes' look of shock, "on top of the near-critical corruption of their branch code, but why does Dr. Light have to be randomly accessing stable timeline memories?"

"Wait," Hermes said, "say that again?"

Hephaestus blinked. "The buggy code is causing him to randomly access stable timeline memories. Right now, he's just getting flashes of knowledge from the baseline, but if it stays like this, he's going to be able to get them from any Loop where he existed."

"That sounds like the Dreaming state affecting several humans the Norns interact with regularly in that service Loop they run," Hermes mused. "Just not nearly as lucid."

"Dreaming state?" Hephaestus asked. "Why have I not heard about this?"

"It's not exactly common," Hermes admitted. "Heck, this is the first time I've heard of it occurring outside the Norns' service Loop. Loopers are Awake, so they automatically retain memories, skills, and powers from any Loop where they were also Awake. Dreamers are a little different. They can't retain skills or powers, but they _can_ retain memories from past Loops even though they aren't Awake currently or were in the Loop they're accessing. I haven't heard the state being the result of a bug, but if it is then the bug is about as benign as they get."

"And if it's showing up in someone _now_, then I can probably expect to get even more 'Dreamers' in the future," Hephaestus sighed. "And knowing my luck, they can't all be people I'd want to be accessing Loop memories."

"Dude," Hermes patted the smith on the shoulder, "if this branch was easy to handle, they wouldn't have assigned you to it. That's the price of being as good at this as you are."

Hephaestus ignored the comment. "I swear, it's like Yggdrasil wants Dr. Light to have this code in his matrix."

"Who knows? Maybe it does. Wouldn't be the strangest thing Yggdrasil's ever done." Hermes shrugged. It was true. Hermes couldn't remember who, but some god had once said that operating Yggdrasil was like sitting down to a massive multiplayer social luck-based strategical roleplaying, world-building board game halfway through where the pieces, the dice, and the cards all had their own ideas about how to play and even the _board itself_ wanted in on the action. (14)

* * *

Blues was racing as fast as he could. Roll had asked him to keep an eye out for a very specific type of energy signature so that he could help with one of the most dangerous enemies since Ra Moon before they got a serious foothold. And he'd still nearly missed it. He'd teleported himself and Beat as close as possible – this individual had put up a field preventing him from getting closer – and began running for his siblings' lives.

Terra of the Stardroids had arrived.

A robot yelp, with accompanying yowl, of pain pierced the air, followed by dual cries.

"RUSH!"

"TANGO!"

Damnit, he needed to move faster. "Beat. Super adapter."

The jet pack on the super adapter contributed greatly to his speed, but the sounds of battle in the distance told him he might arrive too late.

"ROCK!"

_'Damnit.'_ he swore to himself. Rock had told him of Roll's potential trauma triggers, and it sounded like a big one might have just gone off. _'Damnitdamnitdamnitdamnitdamnit.'_

He growled as he came within sight of the battle and saw Roll's buster shots splashing off her opponent's personal energy field. When the alien robot grabbed her and pinned her to the ground, he realized the protection didn't entirely extend to physical objects. "Beat. Blade."

The sword formed as he hurtled towards Terra, intent on taking the Stardroid's head off. Unfortunately, Terra seemed to have heard him coming and was even now beginning to turn to meet his charge. He wasn't going to get close enough to deal critical damage before Terra retaliated.

Blues swung anyway, and was rewarded with a cry of pain as Terra fell to the ground clutching his face.

"YOU INSOLENT INFERIOR EARTH ROBOT!" Terra roared, and Blues could see that his cut had carved a long scar on his face and taken out one of the alien robot's eyes. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! MY MASTER WILL OBLITERATE YOU AND EVERYONE WHO DARES TO STAND AGAINST HIS RIGHTFUL CLAIM OF THIS PLANET!"

"Tell him he's free to take a number," Blues retorted. "Now get going before this costs you your _other_ eye."

He watched Terra fume in fury, clearly believing that destroying Blues, even if the earth robot had hurt him, would not be difficult. But, in the end, the Stardroid teleported out and left them alone.

"ROCK!" Roll wailed over her fallen brother. "Please be okay, please be okay, pleasebeokay..."

Blues disengaged from Beat and went over to run a field diagnostic on his brother, and sighed in relief at the results.

"He'll be fine," he told Roll. "Repairs shouldn't even be difficult. Just take him to Dr. Light immediately along with Rush and Tango: They look like they didn't take any damage to their IC chips. I'll do everything I can to keep the Stardroids from gaining a foothold."

Roll nodded firmly and teleported herself, her brother, and their support units back to the lab. (15)

* * *

"You know, you kind of look like Dr. Wily with a fake beard and cheesy sunglasses," Roll said innocently.

Mr. X, the 'mysterious billionaire philanthropist' sponsoring the World Robot Tournament, sputtered in shock and surprise.

_'Totally worth whatever he's going to do in retaliation,'_ Rock thought to himself as his sister continued to play the 'I'm just an innocent little girl' card. (16)

* * *

It was Dr. Wily's seventh invasion and Roll had convinced Rock to let her fight Bass in his super adapter mode while he went on ahead. Her insistence that Bass was much more amiable when she beat him than when Rock did – something she still didn't quite understand from her solo lives – hadn't gotten her anywhere. Her use of 'paper' in the decision making process had factored in rather better.

Of course, Bass was getting on her absolute last nerve right now, and she was starting to regret the decision.

"Hahahahaha!" he had started laughing at her challenge, which had ironically been what let Rock slip past. "You?! A housekeeping model? Fight _me_?! With what? A _toaster_?!"

Roll fumed as Bass howled with laughter in his winged super adapter form and flexed the claws of her own.

"Or maybe..." Bass's laughter died down and he grinned. "Maybe you find me simply irresistible? Is that it? Did you send dear old Rock on ahead because you wanted some time alone with the most amazing example of male robot in the world?"

Roll twitched.

"That's it, isn't it?" Bass grinned at her expression and flew down until his face was inches from hers.

She hissed at him. Dang it, Tango's personality programming was leaking into hers again...

"Aw, don't be like that," Bass fake-pouted. "Come on. Give me a kiss. You know you want to."

Roll's eyes grew hard, and she slashed at Bass's face with her claws.

"Whoa!" The black robot barely avoided losing an eye, only to get a kick to the stomach before he could take to the air on his wings. He doubled over in reflex, and was promptly at the girl robot's mercy.

She'd punched, kicked, clawed, and blasted him for good measure before leaving his battered form on the ground and going on ahead.

Bass lay there for a long moment before speaking, contemplating the unmatched ferocity that had laid him prone in the first place.

"I think I'm in love..." (17)

* * *

Rock had entertained the thought that he wouldn't have to face Bass while he was powered by Evil Energy in this timeline.

No such luck, though his prior knowledge of Bass's reckless fighting style under its influence had made the battle somewhat easier than he recalled.

"Seriously Bass," Rock shook his head. "What were you expecting to accomplish?"

"Heh," Bass cuckled as his body sparked from damage. "Roll looks up to you so much, I thought if I could take you out it would impress her..." (18)

Bass was trying to impress his sister? That was new.

"I probably just saved your life then," Rock folded his arms and gave Bass a flat stare. "If you'd have succeeded, she'd have cut off your head and shoved it into your torso by way of the new anal cavity she'd ripped you."

Bass stared at Rock for a very long moment. "...Yeah, she could, couldn't she?"

* * *

Blues was nervous, though few would know it.

He was about to try and face down King, a robot his memories of past lives told him was more than capable of cutting him in half in single combat.

"Please tell me you aren't wussing out," grumbled Bass, his rather interesting partner in this endeavor. Rock had said he was trying to impress Roll for some reason, and Blues had suggested stopping King would go a fair ways towards that.

"Not a chance," Blues retorted, hefting his shield. He'd have to rely on it rather than his buster given King's skill at closing range for melee. "Now follow me." (19)

* * *

"Mega Man!" yelled one of the nine figures at the top of the building.

"And Mega Woman!" cackled the lone female next to him.

"Come face your destiny!" the male continued. "Come face your future!"

"Come DIE like the little scrapheaps you are!" the crazed female jumped in front of her partner, cutting him off.

"Who are these bozos?" Bass asked the Light siblings.

"The green one is Quint," Rock explained, "A future-tech clone of me."

"Sounds like a tool," Bass huffed.

"The girl is Waltz," Roll shuddered.

"A murderously crazy future-tech version of Roll," Rock finished for her and watched Bass suppress a shudder himself.

"The seven others..." Roll began. "No idea, but they look like robot masters."

In reality, she and her brother knew full well who those seven were. The Dimensions; Dangan Man, Konro Man, Aircon Man, Komuso Man, the twin Clock Men, and Compass Man; robot masters recruited from the future by Quint and Waltz since Rock and Roll had defeated them and then brought back to the present. But Bass would never believe how they knew that.

"These guys are the Dimensions!" Waltz screeched. "And they're gonna help us scatter your pretty little circuits all over the c–urk!"

Waltz looked down in incomprehension at the energy blade sticking out the front of her torso.

"No more distractions," Quint's voice emerged from behind her with all the warmth of the antarctic. With a quick jerk of his buster arm, with which he'd produced the energy blade, he cut Waltz's torso vertically, the blade exiting the top of her head and destroying her IC chip.

Then he took his boot and pushed her lifeless body off the roof of the building.

Down, down, down the body of Waltz tumbled as the two youngest children of Dr. Light and the son of Dr. Wily watched in shock, until it shattered on the unforgiving street.

_"Dude,"_ Bass exhaled. (20)

* * *

Roll had forgotten how _**not fun**_ Roboenza was. It had been a long time since she'd had it. She honestly wished it could have been a lot longer.

It was kind of hard to go out and make sure her brother was safe when she felt like coughing up a processor.

Or whatever the robot equivalent of a lung was.

Ugh, she felt terrible. (21)

* * *

"Hephaestus," Hermes said from where he was examining some data, "I've been going over this Anchor configuration of yours and I can't quite figure it out. Obviously you have three individuals you're trying to Anchor through, but this isn't a standard three-Anchor configuration. If I didn't know better, I'd say you took a two-Anchor configuration and slapped it over the commonly used one-Anchor configuration, but even then it doesn't look right."

"That's pretty much what I did," Hephaestus admitted. "Rock is the main Anchor holding up his Loop, while I set Roll and Blues to an experimental 'provisional Anchor' state to shore up both the Loop and hold Rock steady while the Anchoring process finalizes. The 'provisional Anchor' code allows for a one-time adjustment up to full Anchor, should such a thing be needed, or down to normal looper which I've set to occur automatically if the attempt succeeds without issue."

Hermes personally thought that was brilliant, but it seemed there was more to it.

"There's a possibility that it can even survive the removal of one individual in the configuration by adjusting the remaining two into a standard two-Anchor configuration before the Loop collapses."

"That sounds a little problematic," Hermes observed. "What are the odds that could even work?"

"2%" Hephaestus sighed, "but it gave me an extra 1% for the overall success of the Loop activating."

"Here's hoping we don't need to find out. Anyway, it's about time for the intersection of both Loops," Hermes stretched. The god of travel turned to where the two nymphs he'd brought were watching from an observation terminal. "And speaking of chances, how's the overall success chance holding up, ladies?"

"Holding steady at 90% Dr. Hermes," one of them saluted in a bout of sillyness while the other giggled.

_'Wait,'_ Hermes thought to himself. That didn't sound right. He typed a few lines on his remote terminal and brought up the data.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 90%

NO CHANGE SINCE BEGINNING OF ATTEMPT INITIATION.

"Hephaestus..." Hermes began. "I know your assigned branch isn't exactly normal due to all the data corruption, but shouldn't these odds have changed by now? I mean, it took seven tries to get a variant scenario up that would let Sonic's branch stabilize and start looping, and the numbers were all over the place. They'd go down when his problems didn't get resolved properly or increased beyond expectations and go up when he solved them. So why has this scenario been holding steady at 90%?"

Hephaestus sighed. "Probably because the problem area Yggdrasil predicted hasn't happened yet."

Hermes blinked in shock. Hasn't happened yet? "I watched your Anchors nearly _die_ before the Loop was stabilized, and that's not a _problem area?!_"

"Yggdrasil doesn't seem to think so," Hephaestus returned.

"Whoa," breathed one of the valkyries, Hermes couldn't tell which at the moment, "it just dropped a whole 10% after a reality warping event."

"Then it's started," Hephaestus intoned as he focused on his terminal and the data being displayed. "We're now in the problem zone everyone. Look sharp." (20)

* * *

1) Waking Up is hard to do. :P

2) 'Well intentioned' terrorists vs religious cult fanatics. Smart money's on 'everyone loses'.

3) Blues has issues.

4) Hephaestus keeps getting all the toughest jobs that no one else wants, don't ya know.

5) Close Call #1.

6) Not all activation attempts are equal. Some can stabilize even if the anchor candidate dies before the full Loop runs. The Megaverse isn't that lucky.

7) Free Will really is kind of scary if you think about it.

8) The Mega baseline is still a bit fuzzy in many places.

9) The Mega Men shooting dangerous opponents in the face is going to become a _thing_, isn't it?

10) Hephaestus does not like his wife anymore. Given that she's the Eiken admin (Aphrodite's allergic to actual work), neither does most of the multiverse.

11) Because having mind-controlled loopers time travel in order to try and kill their past selves causes _problems_. Pre-Loop, Yggdrasil could handle this kind of thing, no sweat. Now… not so much.

12) Tell me, does the mental image of Super Adapter Proto Man with an arm-sword look as awesome as I think it does?

13) Catgirl Roll. Yeah, I couldn't help myself.

14) And the rules change whenever no one's looking.

15) Close Call #2.

16) They're not even online yet and they're already using Loop memories to troll their villainous adversaries. *sniff* I'm so proud!

17) A little something inspired by the Battle and Chase Manga. There, Roll had a crush on Bass, and he only went along with it to troll Rock. Clearly (as in, personal headcanon) this was because Bass is interested in girls who can beat the crap out of him and that version Roll wasn't battle capable.

18) Bass... *shakes head* Stop taking your romance cues from thought processes worthy of daytime soap operas.

19) I have a feeling that this _still_ ended up being Close Call #3.

20) I'm with Bass on this one.

21) Roboenza: The disease where some would think being driven crazy is the _preferable_ option.

22) _Worlds Collide_ in 3...2...


	6. Loop 1 Part 2: Worlds Collide Again

Mega Loop 1.0 part 2: Worlds Collide... Again (0)

* * *

Rock blinked as he felt... _something_ wash over him. He could have sworn it felt familiar, but even the original lifetime hadn't...

Wait...

There was a blank section of his original memories that seemed to be spontaneously restoring itself. Slowly, but enough that he was sure something like what he'd just felt had happened in his original life.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and decided to go about his business. It looked like they'd come together in time.

"Hey Dr. Light," he greeted his father cheerfully as he carried a few tools into the lab, "how's Bond Man coming along?"

"Quite well actually," Dr. Light replied, looking a bit distracted as he did on occasion. "In fact, he's almost ready. I just need to finish programming his IC chip."

"I'm eager to see what he's li–"

"Hey, Rock!" Roll called from the other room. "Blues is on the line!"

"Sorry dad," Rock apologized. He and Roll had become closer to Blues over the years, but the eldest sibling still refused to speak with their father more than absolutely necessary.

"It's fine," Dr. Light smiled melancholily. "Go."

Rock joined his sister by the vidphone to talk to their brother. As tended to be the case, it wasn't a social call, and Blues got right to the point.

"Do either of you have a blank spot in your original memories that suddenly seems to be restoring itself?"

"Yeah," both Rock and Roll replied in unison.

"Me too," Blues intoned. "Be on your guard. If this is happening now, it means something's u–"

Blues was cut off by a scream in the background of his end of the call, followed by the sound of sirens.

"Gotta go," Blues rushed. "Looks like whatever it is isn't wasting any time."

And with that the call was cut off.

"Is our brother _ever_ going to ask for help with anything?" Roll huffed.

"It doesn't seem likely," Rock postulated sadly. "Let's suit up and go help anyway." (1)

* * *

Sonic had known this was coming. He and his friends (and often-not-so-friendly-rivals) had prepared for it their whole Loop after that Hermes guy had asked if they were willing to help some newbies get online despite the possibility of severe risks. On the upside, they'd apparently finally be able to have baseline Loops instead of variants.

Sonic had long suspected that the Loops he was stuck in had never quite matched whatever his baseline was, but it was news to the rest of them.

But back to the topic at hand. Apparently at least one whole Loop, and all native loopers, had already pretty much been erased from existence trying to get these guys they were being asked to help up and running. But not only was he not the kind of hedgehog to leave people in need of help hanging, it sounded like one heck of an adventure.

And the rest of his fellow loopers, including the newest additions brought on by the Crash, apparently felt the same way in at least one of those two respects. Hermes had even promised to pull some strings so everyone would be Awake for this. Supposedly this Loop needed every bit of help it could get. It sounded easy. Just make sure that all of them got through their first Loop alive and intact, and they'd stabilize and be just like everyone else in the Loops.

But it looked like they'd still been blindsided by Eggman and... whoever he'd partnered up with – man, having to piece together his baseline memories after not having access to them for who-knew-how-many Loops was _hard_ – shortly after the latest genesis wave. As a result, many of his friends and allies, most of whom were experienced loopers, had vanished without a trace.

It was going to be damn hard to protect the new guys when they couldn't even seem to protect themselves.

He was currently trying to talk the Chaotix; Vector, Espio, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray; into helping look for everyone, but Vector seemed hung up on the issue of payment. It was beginning to look like Sonic might actually have to fork over some serious Loop bling this time.

"Guys, please!" he pleaded. "I really think Eggman's up to something serious. These are experienced loopers vanishing and we still gotta think of the new guys we're supposed to help soon!"

"Hey, we agreed to this thing Hermes asked like everyone else," Vector reclined in his chair casually. "We'll be happy to help. Just as soon as you pay us for the last dozen or so jobs we've done for you over the course of the Loops." (2)

* * *

"This is weird," Hermes said. "The Zone search engine I made for Sonic's Loop so I could keep track of where the heck they went at times can't find where the doctors are right now. Those Zones of theirs have an annoying tendency to manifest just outside the branch and I needed a way to find them if they went in one while I wasn't watching. The Sonic Loop's Zone code is pretty unmistakable and the program _should_ have located the doctors by now."

"That _is_ weird," Hephaestus admitted. "Try hitching a tracer program on your boy Sonic and we'll see where it leads when they go after their foes."

"Yeah," Hermes agreed. "I tend to use the search engine because it's less resource intensive, but we need to be able to watch them." (3)

* * *

_"Hey, you remember the last time we did this? Good. The doctors are watching us, so let's give them a good show until we're off their grid."_

Rock recalled the hastily whispered words of his current 'adversary' Sonic and did exactly that. He fought as as much like his slowly restoring memories indicated until they could believably reconcile and force the 'roboticized master' watching them to intervene.

He and Roll had joined Blues at the bank robbery, only to find that the number of roboticized masters committing it was double what they remembered it should be, and half of them looked completely unfamiliar. Roll had managed to capture one, a yellow and white robot with a squirrel design that used an energy membrane between its limbs to fly, but the rest had escaped. Rock had gone after them, taking the hit from the blue blur that he could tell was mechanical this time around, and just barely making it through the portal before it closed. Blues had the data readings, Roll had a prisoner, and he knew his dad would be able to get him back.

He'd had a meeting with an old friend to make. (4)

Sonic had come in like last time, same entrance and same lines even, but he'd whispered the message and Rock had played along. Of course, Sonic didn't do things exactly the same way, and so Rock had to improvise. It was... surprisingly fun sparring like this with an opponent not trying to kill him.

They'd gone back over, and Rock had decided to do things a little differently himself by only calling for Rush and Eddie (Sonic had managed once again to disarm his buster). The fight had continued, both he and Sonic throwing their lines out like they were in a play, until they felt they'd delayed enough.

"That gem your buddies stole from the bank isn't yours! Just return it and I'll call off the chase!" Rock called out loud and clear.

"I didn't steal anything!" Sonic retorted with equal volume. "_You're_ the one who kidnapped _my_ friends!"

"I didn't kidnap anyone!" Rock yelled, counting down in his head. _'3...2...1...'_

Right on cue, the watching roboticized master, Tails Man, descended and engaged them. Not even pausing to examine the situation, Rock and Sonic rescued the civilians caught in the crossfire before engaging the enemy themselves. A quick use of a charged shot to stun and Sonic's spin dash to destabilize the roboticization matrix, and it was time for Rock to copy the weapon data and finish the process.

In a flash of light, Sonic's friend Tails was standing in the place of the roboticized master, looking disoriented.

"That still feels weird," Tails observed groggily.

A quick reunion, a scan of the area to make sure that no other potential spies of the doctors were watching, and they began to discuss business.

"So," Rock began, "You all are repeating your lives over as well?"

"Looping," Sonic replied. "That's what it's called. We've been at it for a while actually. I'll give you the full speech once we get back to your place."

As Rock digested the term 'looping', Tails suddenly spoke up. "Hey, isn't there an attack on your home right about now?"

"Probably," Rock allowed. "But that's why Roll agreed to wait there and surprise whoever the doctors sent for dad."

"Roll..." Sonic pondered. "That's your sister, right? The housekeeping model?"

"I don't think a housekeeping model's gonna slow down either of our doctors much," Tails agreed.

Rock smirked. "Ah, but Roll's changed. She's just as good as I am now. Even a bit better in some ways."

* * *

Roll had indeed agreed to stay behind and defend the lab. But even so, she was still surprised when Bass came to attack instead of one of Wily's other robots. His partner had pinned Blues down and grabbed Dr. Light while she engaged Bass.

"Bass!" she pleaded as she brandished her buster at him. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because my father said so," Bass sneered at her. He didn't seem to recognize her as an ally. Wily had overwritten the mind of his own son to make him attack the lab.

Out of the corner of her eye, Roll saw Blues hit with a lucky shot and fall to the floor. She needed to do something.

"Then I'll have to stop-uff!" Roll was cut off by a kick to the gut. She fell to the floor realizing she'd forgotten how competent Bass could be when he wasn't being distracted or arrogant. She groped around with her non-buster hand for something to use, and grabbed the first thing she came across. She shot with her buster and threw the item she'd grabbed, hoping to send him off balance.

Bass sidestepped the shot, but was blindsided by the toaster she threw at him. He shook his head partly to clear it and partly at the absurdity–

_You?! A housekeeping model? Fight me?! With what? A toaster?!_

–and managed to catch the reinforced weapon-grade broom she'd swung at his face. He caught her follow-up kick as well and then kicked her hard in the gut while she was off balance.

"Sorry doll," he sneered, "but that was your free shot and you only get one."

The girl robot glared at him with a ferocity he'd never seen before–

_I..._

–but he just grinned cheekily and followed his partner back through the warp ring with their captive, leaving her behind in a damaged lab and the realization that she hadn't been able to protect her family again.

Fighting back tears, she activated her comm. "Rock... I... I'm sorry. I tried, but... But they still took dad..." (5)

* * *

Auto had been told to contact Dr. Cossack and Dr. Lalinde and tell them what happened to the lab. Considering what everyone was being told, it was probably best he wasn't there. As for the rest of them? Sonic and his friend had requested that they gather in the main lab for an important talk. And what a talk it was.

"So, we're stuck in a repeating period of time called the Loops?" Blues stared at the hedgehog known as Sonic as he went over some form of holographic powerpoint that he'd pulled out of thin air. "Run by some divine supercomputer named Yggdrasil administrated by gods straight out of ancient mythology?" (6)

Over to the side, the fox known as Tails worked on his sister's Mega Buster, modifying it to use something he called the 'Spin Dash Blast' which would be able to restore the roboticized masters to their biological state. Once Sonic was done explaining, Roll was going to use it on Ray Man, the roboticized master they'd caught.

"Yep," Sonic nodded. This was actually kind of thrilling for him. He doubted anyone in the Loops had given the 'Welcome to the Multiverse' speech to someone whose Loop hadn't even finished going live yet. "And you're not the only ones. There's all sorts of different Loops out there, each one with its own Anchor. Most of them have just one, though some Loops are divided up into sections called Linked Loops where each section has its own Anchor. You guys are the first I've come across that have more than one Anchor in a single section though."

"Finished!" Tails called out as he closed up Roll's buster. "Your turn," he said to Rock.

Rock obediently held up his own Mega Buster for the two-tailed fox to work on and Sonic continued his speech.

"Anyway, every so often you can end up in what's known as a fused Loop where you either get visitors from another Loop, you visit their Loop, or you end up in some Loop mish-mashed with stuff from both of your home universes or more. But that's not what's happening here. We're on what's known as a Tandem Run."

"Tandem Run?" Rock inquired.

"It's something that Linked Loops generally do by default since actions in certain sections are supposed to affect events in the others. But it can be done with otherwise unrelated Loops that cross each other in the baseline, like ours do. Our sysadmin, Hermes, told us that we've been stuck in variant Loops, that's when your home Loop differs from your baseline before you even do anything to change events, because our baseline can't load properly unless all the other Loops it crosses are looping or independently stable. Even if the specific baseline Loop iteration doesn't intersect with yours, you still need to be up and running for it to load right."

"And you're done," Tails told Rock as he closed up his buster and began to move towards Blues. "Your turn!"

"I really don't like anyone messing with my systems," he told the fox bluntly. "Sorry."

"And none of these 'gods' know when this will be fixed?" Roll asked.

"Hermes told me they stopped giving repair estimates a while back," Sonic admitted. "And we can't really do anything about it unless we ascend to their level, which would basically break our Loop and destroy our home universe and everyone in it. All we can do is keep going and try to stay as sane as possible and hope we don't run into anything like what caused the Crash."

"That..." Blues start–

_Reality didn't like what was happening._

–ed. "That had something to do with us, didn't it?"

"Er..." Sonic looked nervous. "Yeah, kinda. Recently something destroyed an Anchor on the metaphysical level and made his Loop collapse so hard that Yggdrasil forced a system-wide reset. Set every looper to Awake to shore up the Loops and shook a few new ones out, or whatever Hermes called it, in a bunch of places. Apparently even the memories of this place are gone. Hermes said that the Anchor that was destroyed was sent to a fused Loop with you guys to get your universe patched up enough to start looping."

"The person-shaped hole in our memories..." Rock and Roll said in stereo.

"Whoa," Tails' eyebrows shot up. "You... remember the previous attempts to get your universe looping? That... I really don't think that's a good sign."

"Which might explain why they have to use three of us as 'Anchors' instead of one," Blues observed.

"Anyway," Sonic continued. "There was apparently some reality virus or something that tore apart the Anchor, only for Yggdrasil to tear the virus apart as well. So your admin asked ours to see if we'd be willing to take a risk and help get you all looping, and we all figured why not? I mean, from here we just need to save my friends, your dad, and the day, preferably in that order. I remember some of how good you guys are, so we should be done in no time."

"It won't be that easy," Blues deadpanned.

"Sheesh," Sonic groused to Rock. "Your brother always like this?"

"Yes," both Rock and Roll replied.

"Anyway," Tails observed, "we should get Ray back to normal and start getting the portal up."

"Right," Roll nodded and went to retrieve the roboticized master in question. When she returned, she put Ray Man down in the middle of the room and began charging her buster before firing.

A flash of light came from the form and when it subsided, a disoriented anthropomorphic squirrel was sitting next to a glowing yellow orb. Roll picked up the orb and immediately absorbed it, her armor changing from yellow and cream to yellow and white as she did.

"Ray Glide?" Roll said to herself and extended her arms, an energy membrane flaring to life between the arm and leg on each side. "Huh. The energy membrane allows for gliding and limited flight. Some sort of personal gravity manipulation as well to artificially reduce mass. Not bad."

"Ugh, where am I?" the squirrel asked.

"Hey Ray!" Sonic greeted. "You're over at Rock's place right now. Apparently our doc and his managed to snag you along with the others and roboticized you to fight for them."

"Rock?" Ray's brow furrowed in confusion. "Oh, right, that guy whose universe we agreed to help. Sorry, I'm still a bit out of it."

"No problemo," Sonic grinned. "Guys? This is Ray the Flying Squirrel. He's one of my oldest buds in our baseline and a member of a team called the Chaotix. He's a newbie looper like yourselves since he was 'shaken loose' as a result of the Crash, but he's still 100% awesome." (7)

"I'm really not all that great," Ray rubbed his head, embarrassed.

"The guy also has a tendency to sell himself short," Sonic grinned and gave Ray a playful noogie. "Keeps trying to compare himself to me when there really is no comparison."

"Uh, huh," Rock folded his arms. Sonic's personality was coming back to him now. Jerk, brash, overconfident, more than a little reckless, and a heart of gold beneath it all.

"Anyway," Roll cut in while Tails worked on the portal in the background. "We should try and leave someone here at the lab. Rush, Tango, and Beat are coming obviously, but Auto and Eddie just aren't enough protection if Dr. Wily and your Dr. Eggman send anyone back."

"So leave it to us," a female voice interrupted.

The room turned to see Dr. Noel Lalinde in the doorway, flanked by her robotic daughter.

"Tempo!" Roll cheered and rushed to embrace her friend. "How've you been?"

"I have been well," Tempo smiled. "Auto contacted us and we teleported right over. Mother and I will be honored to guard the lab for you while you rescue your father."

"Wow," Sonic whistled. "She certainly ages better than your dad."

"Thank you," Dr. Lalinde smiled.

Rock chuckled. "Sonic, meet Dr. Noel Lalinde and her daughter Tempo, aka Quake Woman. Dr. Lalinde, Tempo, this is Sonic and his friends Ray and Tails, the latter of which is working on getting us to where dad is."

"Got it!" Tails cheered as a ring-shaped portal opened up near the wall. "It was a little harder than I expected. The readings were a bit like the Special Zone, but also kinda... off."

"Who cares!" Sonic slapped his friend on the back. "We got us a day to go save, right everyone?"

Rock, Roll, Blues, and Ray all nodded firmly and stepped towards the portal.

"Be careful you all," Dr. Lalinde told them.

"Don't worry," Rock assured her as he stepped through the ring.

"We'll bring everyone back safe and sound," Roll finished as she followed her brother.

* * *

"Okay," Hermes concentrated on his terminal. "Trace is good and we have... whoa."

"What in the...?" Hephaestus stared at the screen.

"That... that sort of looks like Zone code," Hermes began nervously, "but it looks like it's merged with..."

"I... I think it _is_," Hephaestus was pale. _'No. Not that. __**Anything**_ _but that... Not when the Loop is so close to stabilizing...'_

* * *

The group emerged from the portal and all stared. To Rock and Blues, it looked somewhat like what their slowly restoring memories told them it should. Wildly divergent landscapes with no transition areas between them and bizarre geography that defied common sense, good taste, and several laws of physics.

But if anything it was even more bizarre than their memories depicted.

Sonic and Tails on the other hand were staring at the ground while Ray and Roll were staring at the landscape in horrified fascination. The checkered ground was different than what they were expecting. The dark brown squares were so dark as to be nearly black, and the lighter ones were so light as to be almost white. But what really got their attention was a gem embedded in the ground close by.

"Sonic," Tails looked shocked. "Is that?"

Sonic bent down to examine the gem. "Not quite, but close enough to mean trouble."

"What is it?" Blues asked.

"Grist," Sonic said gravely. "Looks like one of _those_ things merged with one of our Zones and the not-so-good doctors lucked right into it." (8)

* * *

ANALYSIS OF POCKET DIMENSION COMPOSITE CODE COMPLETE.

'SPECIAL ZONE' CONFIGURATION NATIVE TO BRANCH DESIGNATE 'SONIC': 50%

SKAIA PROTOCOL: 50%

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 70%

* * *

0) A fair amount of dialogue in the Worlds Collide chapters of Loop 1.0, this and later ones, was lifted straight from the comics. Such dialogue is not my original work, and should not be taken that way. It was, however, necessary for certain scenes that were relevant to the progression of Loop 1.0 and had little or no reason why they would be different.

1) Obviously working through Blues's issues is going to take more than one lifetime.

2) I don't think the reality of how serious this is has quite hit Vector yet. Then again, Sonic should really settle his accounts more expeditiously.

3) Hmm... Does Yggdrasil have a Lost and Found they could check?

4) Ah, the old friends you didn't remember before meeting them again...

5) So... Bass went from crushing on Roll to wanting to crush Roll. I smell foul play. Or train tracks.

6) Earliest 'Welcome to the Multiverse' talk ever. As if anyone needed more proof the Megaverse is messed up.

7) Introducing Ray the Flying Squirrel, the first of several never-before-seen Sonicverse loopers (as well as several new roboticized masters). Ray had a single playable appearance in the arcade game _SegaSonic the Hedgehog_ where he was teamed with Sonic himself and Mighty the Armadillo. His ability to glide/fly, as well as his characterization, is from the Archie Comics adaptation.

8) Oh, this can't _possibly_ be good...


	7. Loop 1 Part 3: Roboticized Masters

Mega Loop 1.0 part 3: Robots, Doctors, and Skaia. Oh My.

* * *

Bass glared at the two robots in front of him.

Dr. Wily's Copy Robots stared blankly back.

Bass had never liked these two, but his dad liked to have them around in case he needed to impersonate his mortal enemies Mega Man or Mega Woman. A tool-using model and a housekeeping model retrofitted for combat that Bass, who was designed solely for combat, had faced multiple times. His memories told him that he hated them both and desired nothing more than to finally prove himself superior. The strongest robot in the world. And Dr. Wily's one true son.

So why was there this niggling doubt in the back of his head? (1)

He shook his head free of such weakness and ignored the one that looked like Mega Man – Rock some part of his neural net reminded him – and looked over the one who shared Mega Woman's – Roll's – appearance. The red eyes stared back emotionlessly and were the only things aside from the acid green scarf that differentiated her from the daughter of his father's eternal rival.

There was one more difference, Bass was realizing. The female Copy Robot didn't have Roll's inn–

_I think..._

–er fire.

"Dr. Wily wants you two to intercept and delay your counterparts and their allies while he and Dr. Eggman finish their joint project. Take the Genesis Unit with you. Do not fail."

The two Copy Robots grinned evilly as they processed their orders. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Hephaestus's valkyrie probation officers had seen the emergency for what it was and told him he could do what he needed to to keep the branch from collapsing. Apparently he was allowed some leeway in his probation when the situation was urgent. He hadn't questioned it. He'd just said thanks and gotten to work.

The Skaia Protocol was one of those things that was... complicated. It was effectively the mortal manifestation of a universe generation program in Yggdrasil's system. An important part of the subroutines that permitted Yggdrasil to 'grow', and thus it couldn't simply be taken offline or set to Read-Only. It had to run.

Unfortunately, the fact that mortals could access and use it to make their own universes was a problem. The Homestuck place was the looping area of the branch where the Skaia Protocol was housed, and significant effort had been put in to making it an independently stable universe in no need of an Anchor, which had then been quarantined from the possibility of fused Loops.

But the Skaia Protocol itself was... less easily contained. Instances of it 'drifted' around Yggdrasil's system where they could fuse with who-knew-what and/or Anchors could encounter them. And if those instances created universes that were not properly quarantined, then those universes could then generate additional instances of the protocol.

Any time an Anchor looped into an instance of the protocol, it was immediately flagged by the system. A quarantine team was then sent to debrief the Anchor, and any other looper involved, at the beginning of their next Loop and confiscate anything... problematic.

The Skaia Protocol and items from it... rarely reacted well to established universal code. Using them in an established universe could potentially do far more damage than simply causing a Loop iteration to fail.

The Grist that could be harvested from the monsters that tended to inhabit instances of the Skaia Protocol were, in a way, bits of Yggdrasil code manifested in a form mortals could understand. If you knew what you were doing, you could use Grist to make anything you could imagine. If you didn't know what you were doing, you could cause the reality around you to crash.

And two mortals who liked to frequently straddle the line between knowing and not knowing what they were doing had chanced upon an instance of this protocol. An instance that had somehow become enmeshed with a type of pocket universe known as a Special Zone where the laws of space and time could be freely bent any which way the mortal master of the Zone chose. And they had given themselves plenty of time to learn just what they could do with all this.

Hephaestus would have dearly loved to shut the thing down and toss everyone back to their home Loops, consequences be damned, but Yggdrasil seemed to be of the mind that the leeway on his probation didn't extend that far.

ACCESS DENIED.

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES CAN BE MADE TO BRANCH DESIGNATED 'MEGA' WITHOUT AUDIT AND APPROVAL OF YGGDRASIL OVERSIGHT COUNCIL.

CONTACT RELEVANT OVERSEER TO ARRANGE AN AUDIT.

'Relevant Overseer' meant his father. Zeus.

Damnit. (2)

* * *

"Dr. Eggman's your father?!" Rock stared at the two-tailed fox in confusion.

"Sort of," Tails replied. "He's not in most variants or the baseline, but since Hermes couldn't use our baseline to start our Loop, he apparently ran several different variants until one worked which was then used in place of our baseline as our most common Loop. And in that one, I'm a genetic experiment by Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Eggman's original name, which makes him my father the same way Dr. Light is yours."

"I can understand that," Rock nodded.

"He's actually not that bad a guy there," Tails explained. "Sure he's still a 'villain', but that's the result of a type of mental condition called Science Related Memetic Disorder, or SRMD for short. 'Eggman' was the personality he took on when he suffered an attack and even that part of him subconsciously _wanted_ to be stopped every time. Even at his worst he'd be considered a villainy hobbyist compared to the current version. I was kind of looking forward to him joining us in the Loops, but I guess I know why he won't be if this version is his baseline. Still, I can hope, right?" (3)

"Right," Rock agreed firmly, sympathetic to the fox's plight. He could only imagine if the man he'd always known as his father turned out to be just a small part of some–

Rock's musings were cut short as Rush tackled him out of the way of a buster shot. Looking up, he saw the Genesis Unit; Buster Rod G, Hyper Storm H, and Mega Water S; along with both of the Copy Robots.

"Tango!" Copy Roll admonished the feline who'd rescued his sister from being shot like Rush had rescued him. "Bad kitty! No treats!"

* * *

Dr. Wily was trying to ignore his growing headache now that the last Chaos Emerald had been secured. He and his new partner had gotten together with a brilliantly ambitious plan to use this one-of-a-kind pocket zone to make themselves into the absolute omnipotent rulers of their respective universes. With this place serving as a convenient spot to meet each other over tea between forcing their local populaces to recognize their greatness.

But he kept getting the damnedest headaches. He'd have taken something for them, but they came with ideas. Flashes of memory, or perhaps precognition? They'd led him to talking Ivo into making double their original number of roboticized masters, and they'd convinced him to bring forth even more robot masters for his army.

Now they were telling him that Ivo could become a threat. But... Ivo was the friend he'd always wanted. One who could not only match his brilliance like Thomas, but still respected Wily's as well. Sure, it descended into rivalry at times, but that was to be expected of capable geniuses like them.

"Fine!" he declared. "Whoever's nemeses manage to survive the longest can claim their world is superior!"

"It's a bet!" Ivo declared as he enthusiastically shook on it.

Could Ivo really betray him? Hmm... better put some contingencies in place.

* * *

*BEEP* "Hi, you've reached the personal line of Zeus, Lord of the Olympians and God of Storms First Class. Remember to vote Zeus in any and all upcoming elections! Zeus: The god who has only the best in mind. I'm sorry I can't come to the line right now, but I'm either attending to important business or entertaining a guest. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible." *BEEP*

"YOU LAZY WOMANIZING POLITICIAN!" Hermes screamed into the phone. It was not the first message he'd left. "STOP BEDDING WHOEVER YOU MANAGED TO CON THIS TIME AND DEAL WITH SOME ACTUAL DAMN BUSINESS FOR ONCE! IF YOU DON'T RUSH THAT AUDIT THROUGH IMMEDIATELY I'LL MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOUR WIFE KNOWS _EXACTLY_ WHO AND WHAT YOU DID IN HER OFFICE RECENTLY!"

Hephaestus was meanwhile examining Dr. Wily's code. He'd sworn he'd seen a virus in it a few times, but the dang thing vanished whenever he took a closer look. But it was a different piece of code he was looking at right now, and not one that boded well for this branch or the activation attempt.

Dr. Albert W. Wily had the same 'Dreaming Bug' in his code that Dr. Light had. (4)

* * *

Sonic was handling Buster Rod G without a problem, Tails was having only minor issues with Hyper Storm H, Blues was in a defensive stalemate with Mega Water S, Rock was in an evenly matched aerial duel atop Rush with the male Copy Robot on an Item-2 jet, which left Roll and Ray to handle the female Copy Robot.

And she'd gotten a lucky shot on Tango.

"Don't hurt my cat!" Roll yelled as she fired on her double, only to have each shot intercepted.

"Aw, poor Roll!" Copy Roll grinned as she dodged a tentative strike from Ray and hopped aboard her own Item-2 jet to gain the aerial advantage. "Can't fly. Can't keep up. Should have just stayed in the kitchen!" (5)

"I-I'll show you!" Ray stuttered as he flew up and got in Copy Roll's face.

"Get off me you stupid rodent!" Copy Roll screeched as she swatted the young squirrel-person off of her.

But that moment of distraction was all Roll needed to activate her Ray Glide weapon and fly up herself using a jump and her own artificially decreased mass. And unlike using the Item-2 jet, she didn't need to worry about keeping her footing.

Roll crashed into her double and tackled her off the Item-2 jet, sending both into a fall. Roll positioned herself in such a way that she landed on top and drove her copy's body into the hard ground.

Off to the side, she saw Rock take out his double with the Tail Wind. Sonic and Tails had already defeated their adversaries, and Blues, upon seeing the rest finished, let out a sharp whistle and let Beat take out Mega Water S from behind. Tango came to join her, not particularly any worse for wear.

"Well," Sonic grinned, "that was fun! Wonder what the docs'll throw at us next."

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 60%

* * *

The group had walked through a number of areas, braving hazards native to both worlds. They also occasionally had to deal with robotic versions of things Sonic informed them were called 'Underlings'. He didn't seem all that thrilled about their current robotic nature either.

Eventually, they had located a series of springs that allowed them to rapidly climb to higher ground, where they saw the imposing form of the Wily Egg in the distance. And behind it in the sky on either side was a golden sun and purple moon made into the likenesses of Eggman and Wily respectively.

"Yep," Sonic deadpanned. "Same old doctors. Subtle as a meteor impact."

"Elec Man prefers the term 'blown transformer'," Roll chimed in.

"Eh," Sonic shrugged. "Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"Hold on everyone," Blues cautioned. "The sun and moon don't look right."

"I-I don't think those f-faces would look right on anything," Ray offered.

"Not that," Blues cut him off, concentrating. "Rock, Roll, take a look at those with your Sit-Rep scanners."

His siblings nodded and in a moment, both sported shaded visors like their brother. (6)

"Wait, you guys have cool shades too?" Sonic blinked. "Then why is your brother the only one who uses them?"

"Because I'm the military model of the family," Blues intoned. "The shades contain a comprehensive Sit-Rep system I like to have available at all times."

"And he likes wearing shades," Rock smirked.

"I look good in shades," Blues shot back as his siblings turned to gaze upon the deformed sun and moon.

"Are those..." Roll gasped.

"...cities?" Rock finished.

"As far as I can tell," Blues allowed. "Heavily damaged, but the glow from both hides it. The doctors must have destroyed them before remodeling their appearances."

Tails drew in a sharp breath. "Prospit and Derse... The doctors... took them _both_ out? At once?" (7)

"Y-you've heard of them?" Ray inquired nervously.

Tails nodded absently. "Prospit is the guardian of Skaia and protects it from Derse, but is forever doomed to fail. They both are supposed to have armies. Fleets."

"Like the one Eggman keeps building over and over even when he's _not_ a completely evil douche?" Sonic reminded the fox.

"And Wily's made at least one space station with weapons that could easily demolish either of those places directly," Rock nodded.

"What's going on here?" Tails wondered. "This is clearly some version of the Skaia Protocol, but everything is different from how it's supposed to run! And on top of that, we haven't run into any of our friends yet!"

"Awwwww," the unmistakable condescending voice of Dr. Eggman pierced the tableau, "does wittle Tails miss his wittle friends?"

The group of robots and mobians turned to meet the speaker. There in the sky, riding in their personal trademarked flying machines were Drs. Eggman and Wily. Along with no less than sixteen roboticized masters. Made from the friends and allies of Sonic, Tails, and Ray.

The Light siblings got pings from the robots' transponders, revealing their identities.

Knuckles Man

Rose Woman

Shadow Man

Silver Man

Blaze Woman

Charmy Man

Espio Man

Vector Man

Marine Woman

Cream Woman

Mighty Man

Shade Woman

Acorn Woman

Boomer Man

Cool Man

Bunny Woman

"Let's turn that frown upside down, whaddaya say?"

* * *

"Screw it," Hermes suddenly said, stopping the frustrated pacing he was doing in the office. Zeus had finally picked up, and hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about pushing through an audit allowing necessary changes to the universe his son was administrating. He'd still agreed, but it was clear he did so under protest and threat of irate wife.

"What?" Hephaestus looked puzzled.

"So we're cut off from the higher adjustments we're normally allowed to make," Hermes stated. "So Zeus is being himself as usual. So what? What can we still do?"

Hephaestus sighed. "Analyze data. Send subconscious nudges to the inhabitants that they could very well ignore. Standard temporal flow adjustments normally used for coding moment-to-moment. Maybe a minor intervention or two. Why?"

Hermes slid purposefully into his seat by his remote terminal. "Because I'm Hermes the trickster. And you're Hephaestus, the most successful survivor of creation's crap the Olympians have ever produced regardless of how unintentional. We've worked with worse."

Hephaestus blinked, and his face hardened with purpose equal to his fellow's as he turned to his own terminal.

"Indeed we have."

* * *

Dr. Albert W. Wily had been enjoying the ensuing melee between his and Ivo's ingenious joint creations and their eternal foes. One half, the half his mysterious ideas suggested would have been all they'd made by this point, had gone after Sonic, Mega Man, Proto Man, Rush, and Beat. The other half had gone after Mega Woman, Tails, Tango, and that skittish squirrel Ray.

Of course, then Proto Man had to spoil everything by fleeing the battle to go on ahead and rescue Thomas.

"EWN-001 through–" Ivo had begun, before a headache-induced flash of insight caused Wily to cut him off.

"No, Ivo," Dr. Wily stopped his partner. "He's too good at leading others on a wild goose chase. Let the Egg Denizens take care of him while the roboticized masters end our eternal headaches for us. Besides, we know where Blues is going. So long as we get there first, we can set up some 'surprises' for him."

"Yes..." Eggman mused. "You're quite right. Why, I don't know what came over me!"

"I'm afraid these 'heroes' can bring that out in even the best of us my friend," Wily sympathized.

"Yes, they do tend to thwart genius like ours by not playing their roles properly, don't they?" Eggman mused darkly.

"Perhaps we should return to our base," Wily suggested. "Front row seats like these are wonderful, but we do still have some work to finish. Eyes on the prize and all that."

"Of course," Eggman agreed, "of course. Good thing we installed those portable surveillance monitors, though, right? Work _and_ entertainment all at once!"

"Oh, yes! Quite the inspired idea of yours!" Wily agreed as the doctors made their way back to their base. (8)

* * *

The battle with the roboticized masters was shaping up to be rather difficult. The allied robots and mobians were all quite skilled and experienced, but they were also decidedly outnumbered by powerful opponents.

Roll, Tails, Ray, and Tango had been effectively separated from the rest of the group. They were being pinned down by half of the roboticized masters and slowly overwhelmed.

In fact, Roll felt the only thing keeping her in the game was what appeared to be a heightened state of situational awareness. An almost zen-like battle state where she could react to her opponents as fast as they were able to threaten her. If she didn't know better, she'd swear someone was whispering the right moves to make directly into her mind. She was currently engaged with the tonfa-like Electric Blades of Acorn Woman when such an insight came to her.

_Behind you. Duck._

Dropping to the ground, she avoided the energy-draining blades of Shade Woman and backed away from the stealth-black robot...

_MINE! Ray Glide!_

And straight toward one of her Stealth Mines that promptly exploded. Fortunately, the quick switch to the Ray Glide weapon reduced the damage to minimal and allowed her to ride the explosion upwards where she saw Tails dealing with the trio of Bunny Woman, Cool Man, and Boomer Man while Tango sowed confusion among Mighty Man, Marine Woman, and Cream Woman. Ray tackled Acorn Woman from behind, leaving her a clear opening to take down Shade Woman.

Using the Ray Glide to ride the air, she came down into a dive that Shade Woman failed to dodge, sending them both into a skid that Roll was in significantly more control of. She dismissed the Ray Glide and began charging up her Mega Buster for a Spin Dash Blast as she essentially surfed her opponent across the ground, unleashing the blast and vaulting off the robot in a single motion.

She took note of the female anthropomorphic figure – an echidna? Maybe? – in what appeared to be a special ops bodysuit as she grabbed the nearly-black orb and absorbed the Stealth Mine weapon, turning black and gray. (9)

* * *

"One down!" Hermes exclaimed in triumph as he continued the feed of subconscious communication to his portion of the battlefield.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 58%

* * *

Sonic was doing his best to support Rock since Blues, along with Beat, failed to draw away any of their opponents. The robo-dog rush was doing his best to help, but even then, the best he was managing was knocking their opponents off balance for a second or two so Rock would have a chance to blast them. He hadn't even had enough of a breather to whip something out something from his subspace pocket.

_Shadow Man on your six._

Sonic didn't even question where the intuition came from, he just whipped around in time to see Shadow Man getting a bead on Rock with his Chaos Cannon.

"Rock! Look ou–" the blue blur was cut off as he dove between the blue bomber and his opponent to take the temporal stasis blast meant for the other.

Fortunately, Rock didn't hesitate a moment longer than Sonic. His color shifted to orange and white even as the hedgehog was shouting his warning. As Sonic took the blast meant for Rock, the robot was firing a shot of the Tail Wind at the roboticized assailant.

"–t!" Sonic gasped as Shadow Man went down, and the temporal distortion ended. He was up and running interference an instant later as Rock charged up his make-it-all-better beam and restored Shadow to normal, taking the orb with his weapon as well.

"Hey Shadow!" Sonic called out to his dark rival as Rock's armor turned black and red. "We could use some breathing room here!"

The genetically engineered 'ultimate lifeform' unlocked his limiter rings and began glowing red as he dove into the middle of the remaining roboticized masters. (10)

"CHAOS BLAST!"

Sonic grinned as he pulled out one of the swords he'd snagged from those variant Loops where he kept getting sucked into storybooks. It wasn't Caliburn – Sonic had no idea where the looping artifact, known by most as Excalibur, had gotten to these last few subjective centuries – but it would do. (11)

* * *

Hephaestus nodded to himself as he continued to type away, doing his best aiding the loopers in their battle.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 56%

* * *

Shade – who apparently was indeed an echidna – had recovered quickly and engaged Acorn Woman with Roll as Ray went to help keep the rest of the roboticized masters occupied. The plan was to distract their opponents as much as possible while Roll restored them one-by-one. Hopefully it would keep working.

_Lead her into a mine._

As Shade crossed her energy draining blades with Acorn Woman's electric ones, Roll set one of the Stealth Mines behind the latter and switched to her Mega Buster as she motioned for Shade to lead Acorn Woman into the mine.

The explosion went off and downed the female robot just as Roll finished charging. A moment later and there was a female anthropomorphic ground squirrel in boots, gloves, bicycle shorts, and a blue vest rubbing her head next to an electric blue orb.

"Give me a moment," the female squirrel said, shaking off her disorientation as Roll absorbed her master weapon, the Electric Blades, and turned brown and blue. A pair of bracelets on the squirrel woman's arms hummed to life and produced a pair of energy blades identical to what her robot form had possessed. (12)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 54%

* * *

"CHAOS CANNON!" Rock yelled as he blasted Silver Man, only to take a hit from Blaze Woman before Shadow could engage her. Nonetheless, he switched to his Mega Buster and reached full charge as the temporal stasis field around Silver Man collapsed and the two fired at each other.

Rock's memories of such a cross-counter blast of energy happening before restored themselves as the two shots effectively proved no impediment to each other and both hit their targets full-on. Rock struggled against the psychokinetic field produced by the Psycho Burst for a moment before the restored Silver made himself known.

"Sorry about that," the temporally displaced looping hedgehog apologized as he raised his glowing arm towards Rock. "Let me see what I can do." (13)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 52%

* * *

Cool Man and Bunny Woman had broken off from Tails, Ray, and Tango to engage Roll. Fortunately, Shade was able to waylay Bunny Woman while Roll and Sally, the squirrel woman and apparently princess, double-teamed Cool Man.

The energy of Roll's Electric Blades arced around the coyote-styled robot's Trick Sword and stunned him when the two clashed, allowing Sally to score a disabling shot from behind while Roll charged up the shot to restore the roboticized master to normal.

One blast later, and Roll was being hastily introduced to one Antoine D'Coolette as she absorbed the Trick Sword, turning red and brown.

"Madame!" the coyote mobian pleaded frantically, gesturing at Bunny Woman. "You must help my wife!" (14)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 50%

* * *

The now teal and white, with helmet colors reversed, Rock made his way towards Blaze Woman as Silver shielded him from stray shots. The fire-based roboticized master had decided to engulf herself in a pillar of flame that made her impossible to physically approach, making it imperative that they restore her next.

Rock fired the Psycho Burst weapon straight through the flame, causing it to dissipate and Blaze Woman to freeze in place. Trusting Silver to cover him, he switched over to his Mega Buster and charged up a Spin Dash Blast before firing on the robotic pyromaniac.

"Ugh," Blaze the Cat muttered as she was restored to normal. "That was no more pleasant than last time. Thank you again." (15)

"Any time," Rock smiled as he collected the weapon orb for the Fire Tornado, turning violet and white.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 48%

* * *

Bunny Woman's laser weapon was immensely powerful, but it appeared that while the Trick Sword of Cool Man was highly conductive, it was also very reflective in nature. Turning away the laser blasts with ease, Roll kept Bunny Woman distracted while her allies surprised her from behind and pinned her arms long enough for her to charge and fire the restoration blast from her Mega Buster.

As she picked up the weapon orb for the Rabbot Laser, turning brown and pink, she saw the rabbit woman, _who still had three robotic limbs_, blink in disorientation before grabbing the coyote in a hug.

"Sugah 'Twan!" the cybernetic rabbit cried in a southern drawl. "Ah was afraid ah'd never see ya again!"

Roll blinked at the mobian cyborg. "Er, are you sure you're fully restored?"

An explosion sounded, and the group turned to see a swarm of little blue robots, all crying 'omochao' in mechanical voices, cover the battlefield.

"Maybe ah should fill y'all in later..." the cyber-lagomorph replied, wide-eyed at the latest development. (16)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 46%

* * *

Rock's memories of the fighting styles of the roboticized masters were restoring faster and faster. Thus he knew full well how painful dueling Rose Woman and her Piko Hammers could be. And so he didn't hesitate for a second to use the Fire Tornado on her full blast.

A quick charge and shot with his altered Mega Buster, and the pink hedgehog was shaking out the cobwebs of returning to her normal body as Rock picked up her weapon orb, changed colors to red and pink, and rushed towards the next roboticized master. (17)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 44%

* * *

The restored mobians were desperately fending off the swarm of robotic Omochao sentinels as Roll blasted her way through with the Rabbot Laser in search of the source.

She found it in the form of a smaller lagomorph-model roboticized master, Cream Woman, floating in mid-air and fired. The small robot was taken off guard and fell to the ground as Roll switched out her weapon and charged up to restore the roboticized master. At the last moment, one of the Omochao sentinels placed itself in the path of the blast.

Roll shielded her eyes from the double flash of light and saw not only a young rabbit girl – one who had to be years younger than Kalinka was when she and Roll first met – but also a non-robotic Omochao thing.

"Cheese!" the rabbit girl cried in worry and relief.

"Chao!" the blue organic Omochao-like thing returned, flying to embrace the girl.

Roll began fuming as the swarm of Omochaos began falling to the ground without their master to guide them. _'A child?! Eggman! Wily! You utter bastards!'_ (18)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 42%

* * *

Rock's acquired Piko Hammer met the Sharp Knuckle of Knuckles Man head-on, and the latter broke.

A pounce from Rush and a spin dash from Sonic as he switched weapons and charged up were all the distraction needed to restore the next of Sonic's allies. (19)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 40%

* * *

A furious cream and red Roll fired Omochao after Omochao as she closed in on the super-strong Mighty Man. She needed to vent some frustration and this roboticized master looked like he was armored enough take it. The Omochao sentinels dodged the powerful punches of Mighty Man and knocked him off balance as Roll switched weapons and charged. In both senses of the word.

Getting close to Mighty Man, she leveled her blaster point-blank at his torso and fired.

"Ugh," the armadillo mobian coughed as he was restored. "Anger management issues much?" (20)

"Sorry," Roll apologized. "I saw what Eggman and Wily did to that poor rabbit child and I had to hurt something."

"Understandab–" the armadillo man started before his eyes widened.

_Behind you!_

Roll was turning and grabbing Mighty Man's weapon orb before the flash of insight even came. Turning red and yellow, she equipped the Mighty Blow weapon and punched–

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 38%

* * *

–shattering the sonic energy from the Acoustic Blaster of Vector man. The red and white Rock winced at the mild recoil doing that with the Sharp Knuckle incurred before re-engaging the crocodilian Vector Man.

"Unacceptable levels of resistance," Vector Man intoned mechanically as Rock dueled him at close range. "Self-destruct option authorized. Self-destruct of remaining units in two minutes fifteen sec–"

Rock laid the roboticized master out with a blow to the head and wasted no time restoring him to normal and grabbing his weapon orb (21). Turning green and lime as he equipped it, he focused on locating Charmy Man. He had to restore the remaining allies of Sonic quickly. There was no time to waste.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 36%

* * *

The revelation of a self-destruct option from the walrus-model Boomer Man made Roll's circuits go cold as she deflected another blast of the Shockwave Boomer around her with the Mighty Blow. She had to step things up.

Marine Woman was being kept busy by Tails, Ray, and most of their restored allies until she finished with Boomer Man, so there was minimal chance of interference from an outside source as she charged Boomer Man and laid him out with a powerful body blow.

Roll quickly switched out and restored Boomer Man to normal (22). Ignoring the walrus as he shook himself free of disorientation, she grabbed his weapon orb and equipped it, turning purple and yellow as she did, and turned to face the last of this half of the roboticized masters.

Only for a wall of water originating from Marine Woman to erupt, flinging all of her allies every which way.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 34%

* * *

Charmy Man had proved annoyingly agile and able to evade attacks from not only Rock but also Sonic and his allies for a whole minute.

"Submit to termination," the bee-themed robot announced. "Self-destruct in one min-bzzt!"

Fortunately, Rock had recalled that the Acoustic Blaster was chargeable, and the larger blast was much harder to avoid.

Walking up to the downed roboticized master, Rock switched weapons, charged his Mega Buster, and fired.

"I don't feel good..." Charmy Bee moaned. (23)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 32%

* * *

Roll had barely withstood the torrent of water Marine Woman unleashed, but withstood it she had. Now she was looking at a roboticized master encased in protective water and free to fire her Hydrokinesis weapon at will.

But then, Roll was well aware that sound traveled quite well in water. The Shockwave Boomer didn't even lose a decibel as it plowed through the aquatic protections and downed the raccoon-model robot.

Roll restored Marine Woman and felt another jab of fury as she beheld that the mobian was a girl roughly the same age as the rabbit. Did Eggman and Wily have no shame?!

"All hands on deck, ye cobbers," muttered the raccoon youth. "Yer captain demands it, mates... Avast and ready the main cannons..."

Roll blinked as she collected the weapon orb, turning green and brown, and stared at the girl in confusion. (24)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 30%

* * *

"Well, that looks like everyone," Sonic sighed in relief as Rock collected Charmy Man's weapon orb and turned black and yellow.

"Is it?" Knuckles asked, uncertain. "I don't see Espio."

Sonic's eyes suddenly widened in a panic when he realized he had no idea where the ninja was, or had been for most of the battle.

"Where...?" he began, only to be cut off as Rock casually fired the Rapid Stinger over his shoulder, hitting a cloaked Espio Man who was directly behind him in the process.

Without even turning around, Rock switched to his Mega Buster, charged up, and restored the chameleon to normal.

"Heh," a groggy Espio snorted. "How did you know?"

"Let's see," Rock smirked. "You were a ninja robot programmed for silent elimination of the enemy with a clear shot at my back. Where _else_ would you have struck?" (25)

Espio chuckled at that and stood up, picking up his weapon orb as he did so.

"The Chroma Camo," he declared as he gave it to Rock. "May you do as well with it this time as you did the last."

"I promise," Rock bowed respectfully, turning purple and black as he absorbed the weapon into his databanks.

* * *

Hephaestus blinked from where he'd been about to hit the 'enter' key on his terminal and send the subconscious communique to Rock. "Huh. He didn't even need help for that one."

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 28%

"Hey, Hephaestus?" Hermes called from his own terminal. "Why the heck are the numbers still dropping when our boys are clearly winning?

"Obviously the doctors have something very nasty in store in case they get desperate," Hephaestus postulated, "and with each decisive victory our loopers achieve, the more likely that desperation gambit becomes."

* * *

Dr. Light sighed in his cramped cell as the two mad doctors walked away. Really, what was the point in chiding him over his choice in facial hair? Albert had gone around the bend before, but he seemed even more unhinged than usual.

A sound outside his cell caused him to look up, and when he did he beheld an anthropomorphic bat woman that he knew he'd never seen before. Despite this, some part of his mind _insisted_ she was familiar. The bird on her shoulder however, was completely unfamiliar even to the feeling of deja vu.

"Dr. Light, I presume," the bat woman smirked in greeting. The bird on her shoulder simply considered him with an unusually acute intelligence in its eyes.

"Why, yes," the scientist blinked in surprise. "May I ask who you and your companion are?"

"You can call me Rouge," the bat woman smiled. "I'm a spy, and right now your best friend. My colleague here is called Omega. He's a flicky who normally serves as the biological AI of my heavy artillery support." (26)

The bird chirped smugly.

"Indeed," Dr. Light raised an eyebrow. A strange concept, but he'd come across stranger.

"The only reason he's out is because this mission requires stealth instead of muscle," Rouge continued, ignoring Omega's displeased look. "We were in the middle of an investigation when one of the Copy Robots abducted our partner, a mistake on her part. She made this personal."

Dr. Light was impressed with Rouge's knowledge and resourcefulness, and told her so. As he did, Omega flew off to examine something nearby.

"Oh, honey," Rouge dismissed, clearly flattered. "You have _no_ idea."

"Are you here to rescue me?" he asked her.

"Yes and no–" Rouge was cut off by an alarmed chirp from Omega, but before she could react a clear tube had sprung out of the floor straight to the ceiling, entrapping her in it. Omega tried to fly away, but an electrical arc stunned the bird and deposited him on a portion of floor that disgorged a clear tube around his form like the one that held Rouge.

"Oh, bravo Ivo!" came the cheery voice of Albert Wily applauding from the doorway. "Superb catch!"

"Oh, you flatterer!" Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik returned in a teasingly coy manner. "As if you didn't predict a rescue might be attempted!"

"Eggman! Wily!" Rouge spat angrily. "Just what do you think you're going to accomplish with this?!"

"Oh, nothing much," Eggman grinned. "Just finishing up the membership of our roboticized masters."

"Like you can keep me from breaking out between here and there," Rouge taunted.

"Between...?" Dr. Wily began in confusion before both doctors cracked up laughing.

"Oh, my dear Rouge," Eggman wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. "You always had the best sense of humor. The robiticization chamber is this very room! It was Albert's genius idea to make it and the prison cells in the same place so when we caught someone trying to free a prisoner, there wouldn't be any fuss at all! Just spring a trap and flip a switch!"

Rouge's eyes widened in horror.

"Speaking of switches, Ivo," Wily gestured to one on the wall. "Would you do the honors?"

"Why, thank you Albert!" Eggman grinned as he did exactly that. Energy coursed over Rouge and her avian companion and when it subsided, there were two more members of Eggman and Wily's forces standing in the room.

"Be grateful, Thomas! For you bear witness to the most dangerous of our roboticized masters!" Wily cackled as he and his partner prepared to finish the introduction in unison.

"Rouge Woman and Omega Man!"

* * *

1) Don't you hate those memories you can't quite grasp?

2) As if this situation needed _more_ problems.

3) The Sonicverse has been running primarily on a game-based variant with some interesting fanon history and a characterization of Eggman based on some stuff from the comic _Ruins Of The Fourth Wall_ by Jen Irwin instead of a canon baseline until... this Loop actually.

4) Zeus: The divine politician. Dr. Wily: Mad scientist and would-be conqueror randomly accessing Loop memories. Can I get a refund on this recipe?

5) The Copy Robots are jerks.

6) How you make Cool Shades even cooler.

7) I had to wiki all of my Skaia/Homestuck knowledge. That said, anyone who's familiar with that continuity fubar is probably getting a sinking feeling right about now. Assuming they hadn't already.

8) Dr. Wily just got Dr. Eggman to drop the Villain Ball. That sinking feeling is getting stronger.

9) Shade the Echidna's only game appearance to date is _Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood_ where she starts out as part of the bad guy group, the Nocturnus Clan, but has a change of heart. She's a stealth expert, martial artist, and military strategist. While her main weapon is a pair of energy-draining blades, she's also known to use explosives and I didn't have a bomb weapon among the roboticized masters yet, so...

She's only been in Archie Comics in the alternate reality "Another Time Another Place" to promote the game she appears in, but with the recent continuity reset, I'm hopeful that she'll return.

10) Shadow the Hedgehog, arguably Sonic's biggest rival. First appearing in _Sonic Adventure 2_, Shadow is one of the few Sonic characters besides Sonic himself to star in his own game, appropriately named _Shadow the Hedgehog_. I'd expect that anyone who's been paying any attention to Sonic media in the past decade or so to know who he is.

11) Caliburn, the talking sword from _Sonic and the Black Knight_. Also known as the one true Excalibur. As a 'Looping Artifact', he essentially can't be duplicated in much the same way loopers can't (and you know _someone's_ tried), and he doesn't have to follow anyone through the Loops he doesn't want to. Many other blades in the multiverse bear the name Excalibur, but they're not the 'real thing', though Caliburn would freely admit that the imitation is quite flattering. He and Sonic parted ways after the latter stopped using the former regularly during the Loops. While still friends, both will admit that weapons aren't really Sonic's style.

12) Princess Sally Acorn of the Archie Comics _Sonic the Hedgehog_ series. Princess of the kingdom Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik conquered when she was a child, leader of the Freedom Fighters, ground squirrel, chief love interest of Sonic's comic incarnation, and all-around badass. She's in her post-continuity-reset form here. She has these awesome bracelets that can form energy blades mounted on her wrists, and since I was having trouble thinking of a decent master weapon for her prior to her re-introduction, I snapped this up.

Trivia: Those energy blades? They originated pre-continuity-reset after Eggman roboticized her (long story) and installed them as weapons. And the reset retconned them to her personal weapon-of-choice.

13) Silver the Hedgehog made his debut in _Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)_. He's a time traveller from an ill-defined future sent to the past to avert catastrophe in all his canon incarnations, and boy does _that_ have to be a headache for Hermes, the admin of the Sonicverse. The walking paradox that is the Time Eater would probably be on lockdown though.

14) Antoine D'Coolette. Boy did his roboticized master name take a while for me to hash out. Anyway, he's also from the Archie Comics series and in post-continuity-reset form. Antoine's interesting. He started out among the Freedom Fighters as the designated comic relief butt-monkey with a bad French accent and has since graduated to bonafide badass swordsman and debonair romantic. Oh, and he's a coyote.

15) Blaze the Cat actually isn't from Sonic's dimension. She's from an alternate dimension of the Sonicverse called the Sol Dimension which has a set of flame-based Sol Emeralds instead of the Chaos Emeralds, and her instead of Sonic. She and her home dimension first appeared in _Sonic Rush_.

16) Meet Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette, 100% southern belle and Antoine's canon wife. Like her husband, she's from the Archie Comics series, and she had two cybernetic legs and one cybernetic arm (her left). Pre-continuity-reset, this was due to partial roboticization, but post-continuity-reset it was due to a life-saving medical procedure. She's in the latter incarnation, like the rest of the Freedom Fighters, which is kinda funny since the continuity reset I keep talking about happened as a _result_ of the Worlds Collide crossover, which is essentially what's currently happening. Aren't the Loops fun?

Anyway, her cybernetic limbs come with all sorts of cool options and she's gone toe-to-toe with several of the heavy hitters in her universe, like Metal Sonic.

17) Amy Rose first appeared in _Sonic the Hedgehog CD_, and she's been stalking the blue blur ever since under the impression they were meant to be together. It gets kinda creepy at times, even to characters that aren't Sonic, but she's otherwise a good person and a strong ally.

18) Cream the Rabbit and her chao Cheese, one of the punniest duos in the gaming industry. Both first appeared in _Sonic Advance 2_. They're surprisingly capable as combatants, and have been known to defeat opponents that even give Sonic a hard time. Oh, and did I mention that she's _six_ in the baseline?

The Omochao weapon on the other hand is a direct reference to the robotic chao of the same name introduced in _Sonic Adventure_. He acts as a guide, and a number of gamers tend to feel about him the same way they feel about 'annoying fairy guides'.

19) Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic's very first rival from all the way back in _Sonic the Hedgehog 3_ first released in 1994. I really shouldn't have to say any more than that.

20) Mighty the Armadillo originated in the arcade game _SegaSonic the Hedgehog_ along with Ray, but he's probably better known for his appearance in _Knuckles' Chaotix_. He wasn't really developed much in the games and seems to have been dropped from the Chaotix line-up there, but his Archie Comics incarnation is another story. There he's super-strong, enough to swing a tank by the gun barrel, and extremely tough.

I think I missed my chance to make an Armored Armadillo reference though. Dangit.

21) Vector the Crocodile, the leader of the Chaotix (we saw him earlier before he was roboticized). Depending on which continuity you ask, the Chaotix are a bunch of bumbling detectives or fellow defenders of Knuckles' homeland, the floating island. Regardless, Vector's a brawler who likes music and seems to frequently wind up in debt. First appeared in _Knuckles' Chaotix_.

22) The last of the Freedom Fighters from the Archie Comics series, Rotor "Boomer" Walrus. Pre-continuity-reset, he was a definitively portly mechanic who wasn't really suited to front-line fighting. Post-continuity reset, he's a buff battle mechanic who beats up robots by _throwing them into other robots_. Guess which incarnation I picked. Yep, the latter one.

Rotor's roboticized master weapon actually comes from his pre-continuity-reset incarnation though, where he built a power suit with wrist-mounted sound-energy cannons (why is a long story). There was some tweaking though. Mechanics like Rotor do that.

23) Charmy Bee is another member of the Chaotix originating in _Knuckles' Chaotix_. He's depicted as having a kid-like attitude, but his actual canon age could be anywhere from six to sixteen depending on which continuity you're asking.

24) Marine the Raccoon got her start in _Sonic Rush Adventure_ where she's a sea captain with her own ship (despite being seven). At the end of it, she uses a mystery power that some believe could be hydrokinesis, so I took that and ran with it as a baseline power she's further honed over the Loops. Her depicted personality that I'm familiar with I've interpreted as the following three words: Hyperactive Australian Pirate.

25) The last of the Chaotix, Espio the Chameleon. He debuted in _Knuckles' Chaotix_ and is a badass ninja. So, Rock's pretty much on the dot here.

26) Ah, Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega (in flicky form), Shadow's fellow teammates on Team Dark. Rouge is a jewel thief and part-time secret agent introduced in _Sonic Adventure 2_. She's looping. E-123 Omega is a renegade creation of Dr. Eggman introduced in _Sonic Heroes_. He's _not_ looping.

Omega as a flicky-in-a-robot is a call-back to E-102 Gamma from Sonic Adventure and the rest of the E-Series robots from that game who _were_ flickies that needed to be rescued. Whether or not Omega is the same way is a question that hasn't been answered yet. But I needed him to be biological in some way in order to make him a roboticized master, so a flicky (with the ability to exit his robot body, and a marked preference for being inside it) he became.

* * *

Sorry for the infodump there. Hope I didn't bury anyone. Here's a TLDR rundown of Sonicverse loopers and allies:

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog - Anchor for every variant of his branch where a version of 'Sonic' exists.

Blaze the Cat - Linked Loop Anchor for the rest of the 'Sonic' branch of Yggdrasil.

Miles "Tails" Prower - Oldest looper aside from Sonic.

Marine the Raccoon - Only other known looper in Blaze's section.

Knuckles the Echidna - First rival of Sonic to start looping.

Amy Rose - Looper who almost went Sakura Syndrome. Sonic still gives her a wide berth if at all possible.

Shadow the Hedgehog - Looping rival of Sonic.

Vector the Crocodile - First member of the Chaotix to start looping.

Espio the Chameleon - Chaotix looper.

Charmy Bee - Chaotix looper.

Rouge the Bat - Looping sometimes-ally of Shadow.

Cream the Rabbit - Looping friend of Amy (Cheese may or may not be looping. Cream isn't saying and no one else can really tell).

Mighty the Armadillo - Chaotix looper.

Silver the Hedgehog - Looper with some wonky code due to being a baseline time traveler. Essentially, he Awakens when he 'comes to the past' and any time he returns to the future outside what's 'required', his participation (Awake or otherwise) in that Loop ends

Shade the Echidna - Most recent looper pre-Crash.

Princess Sally Acorn - New looper activated by the Crash.

Antoine D'Coolette - New looper activated by the Crash.

Bunnie Rabbot - New looper activated by the Crash.

Rotor "Boomer" Walrus - New looper activated by the Crash.

Ray the Flying Squirrel - New Chaotix looper activated by the Crash.

Big the Cat - While Big is not truly stupid, his outlook on life is so thoroughly simple that his behavior wouldn't change even if he _was_ looping.

E-123 Omega - Not looping, though still thoroughly badass. I fear the day he gets access to a subspace pocket since the only thing he'd use it for is more ammunition.


	8. Loop 1 Part 4: Skull Egg Zone

Mega Loop 1.0 part 4: Across the Skull Egg Zone! Destination: Wily Egg!

* * *

"Okay..." Hermes' mind raced for possibilities as to how they could try and fix the situation. "Could we use a local aspect of ourselves as a backdoor and slip down there personally?"

"Two big problems with that," Hephaestus replied. "First is that our local aspects have been turned into minions of Eggman and Wily, and I'm not wild about plugging my mind directly into something like that no matter how easy it would be to usurp control. Second, if either of us has our consciousness down there while the Loop isn't yet stable and the activation attempt fails..."

"...there's a chance we could possibly end up with brain damage, turning us into divine vegetables," Hermes finished (1). "Right. Bad idea. Damnit, there has to be something we can do! It's like everything we're doing here is just making it worse!"

"And the moment we stop, they'll face something where our intervention is actually critical to the success of this attempt," Hephaestus returned flatly. "I know how these things tend to work, same as you do."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Hermes grumped.

Hephaestus smirked. "Welcome to my existence."

* * *

With the restoration of Sonic's friends and allies to normal, the groups reconvened and introductions were had all around.

As it turned out, Sonic's home Loop was part of a Linked Loop, with Blaze the Cat being the only other Anchor that held down every part of their 'branch' of Yggdrasil that Sonic couldn't. The only other looper from her section was Marine the Raccoon, a hyperactive young sea captain with what sounded like an Australian accent on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Even Blaze admitted her friend took some getting used to.

On Sonic's side, there was of course Miles 'Tails' Prower, the oldest looper aside from Sonic himself. After the fox, Knuckles the Echidna had been the earliest looper and Sonic's first 'rival' to start looping. Amy Rose had come next, and she'd reportedly flirted with a mental condition called Sakura Syndrome. It seemed Sakura Syndrome was a special type of insanity that could affect loopers when they failed to handle the stressful nature of the Loops and stopped considering the consequences of actions that sane people would normally see as abhorrent. She'd apparently skirted the edge of this state for long enough that Sonic was still a bit nervous around her.

The Chaotix were a team that were sometimes detectives and other times fellow guardians of Knuckles's homeland. Vector the Crocodile was the oldest looper among them followed by the ninja Espio the Chameleon, the hyperactive Charmy Bee, the super-strong and super-tough Mighty the Armadillo, and finally the somewhat nervous yet capable Ray the Flying Squirrel who had started looping as a result of the Crash.

Shadow the Hedgehog had started looping about mid-way between when Sonic had been made an Anchor and now, and only one of his two normal teammates, neither of whom were present, was looping. After him there was the physically young Cream the Rabbit and her chao Cheese, the latter of whom might or might not be looping. Cream seemed to know, but found the fact that no one else did amusing enough to keep the secret.

Silver the Hedgehog was some sort of time-traveler, but the Loops resolved that fact in such a way that he always Awoke after traveling to the past and returning to 'his' time outside a stable time loop event caused his participation in that Loop to end. Silver had related that this was likely due to his native time period being generally ill-defined or corrupted in Yggdrasil's system when individuals from Sonic's era weren't involved. Then there was Shade the Echidna, the youngest looper pre-Crash, who apparently had the tendency to Awaken with the name Julie-Su every so often. Sonic and his allies agreed that this state of affairs was a testament to how screwy the Loops could be at times.

After them were the four Freedom Fighters; Princess Sally Acorn as the leader with her non-looping pocket computer NICOLE that she had kept in her subspace pocket, battle mechanic Rotor 'Boomer' Walrus, coyote swordsman Antoine D'Coolette, and his cybernetic wife Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette. All of them were loopers who had been 'shaken loose' as a result of the Crash like Ray, and it seemed the newest loopers actually had the clearest baseline memories out of anyone in the crowd. Bunnie's three cybernetic limbs were explained as a result of a life-saving medical procedure, at least this life anyway, and thus something she was supposed to have. Sonic had explained that nearly every version of Bunnie he'd come across before she'd started looping had ended up with mechanical limbs for one reason or another.

And finally there was some possibility of another looper having been activated by the Crash. Tails was still hoping for the not-really-evil version of Eggman he was used to, who was clearly not Awake this time regardless if he'd begun looping or not, but a number of the others had money on a new looper in Blaze's section or someone named Big the Cat. However, Sonic had related that Big's outlook on life was so thoroughly simple; fish, sleep, help his friends when needed, and basically pal around with his pet Froggy; that he could have been looping since before Knuckles and none of them would be able to tell.

Talking amongst each other, the large group decided that splitting up to make their way to the Wily Egg was best. Sonic and Tails would stay with Rock and Roll as the main group. Knuckles would take the Chaotix and try to catch up with Blues and inform him of the situation as well as offer aid in case he needed help. Blaze would take Marine, Amy, Cream (with Cheese), and Silver on ahead and try to take out threats to the main group. Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters would circle around and see if they could find any less hazardous routes to take towards their objective. And no one was quite certain where Shade had snuck off to while they were discussing how to divide up the groups, which left Shadow who had decided to go off on his own to try and find his missing colleagues.

In all honesty, if he'd been thinking straight he would have realized that he might find them faster by staying with the main group.

* * *

Omega Man stood before a hulking robotic behemoth whose head was wreathed in flames.

"Egg Denizen: Forge," the roboticized master ordered. "You are required by the masters of this Zone, Drs. Eggman and Wily, to accompany this unit to eliminate the opposition of priority ones: Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man as well as their allies."

Elsewhere, Rouge Woman was making an identical request of a sleek machine identified as Egg Denizen: Racer. They would join up with Omega Man and Egg Denizen: Forge for a full assault on the enemies of the doctors. (2)

* * *

Blues had been making his way along the mountain trail he'd found when he was blindsided by two robots the size of trucks. One appeared to be a male-form humanoid robot floating in a Buddhist-style meditative position and a laser in its forehead while the second was a lithe female-form model with arm-mounted weapons that appeared similar to crossbows. The first had self-identified as Egg Denizen: Prophet and the second as Egg Denizen: Hunter.

Blues could have handily taken out either on their own, but both at once was proving troublesome. He was contemplating doing something reckless from where he was pinned down behind his shield when the cavalry arrived.

The red form his restoring memories recognized as Knuckles slammed hard into Egg Denizen: Prophet and knocked it off-balance. An armadillo he didn't recall from the original timeline at all landed atop Egg Denizen: Hunter and punched it hard enough to dislodge the machine from its perch on the cliff.

"Hey Pogo Man!" came the shout of Vector, leading Espio, Charmy, and Ray in a charge to reinforce Blues personally. "Looks like we found you just in time!"

Blues shook his head, wondering how a complete goof like Vector somehow managed to be a good enough detective to actually find him when Dr. Wily often couldn't. He chalked it up to one of the eternal mysteries of the multiverse and rejoined the battle. (3)

* * *

Princess Sally Acorn directed her fellow Freedom Fighters expertly after they'd been ambushed by a surprisingly female Eggman creation that identified itself as Egg Denizen: General. The problem wasn't so much the machine itself, but the small army of smaller robots it brought with it.

Currently Bunnie and Rotor were unleashing as much widespread destruction among the smaller robots as they could with Bunnie's built-in cybernetic armaments and a few of Rotor's inventions. This left her and Antoine to engage the 'General' with their respective blades.

It might have gone a bit better if Eggman's robot hadn't been skilled with a blade as well.

* * *

Shadow was cursing his luck. Not only had he not found either Rouge or Omega, but he'd been accosted by something calling itself Egg Denizen: Harvest. That could control the local plant life.

Damnit, he didn't have _time_ for this!

* * *

Blaze and company had spotted four robots moving towards Rock and Sonic's group, but before they could intervene they were attacked by a pair of large robots themselves.

The first was clearly female, and exquisitely designed. Aside from that, it didn't seem to do anything other than radiate an energy field that caused disorientation. It called itself Egg Denizen: Princess.

The other was the standard kind of mecha that Eggman liked to use. Egg Denizen: Knight carried a shield and a brutal-looking sword. Such an opponent would normally be easy for a group like theirs, but with the disorientation field up, it was looking like a tough battle was ahead.

* * *

The attack had come out of nowhere. One moment Sonic had been moving right along with his group, and the next he'd been blindsided by something the size of a car and moving as fast as himself.

"What the heck are you supposed to be?!" he called out as he peeled himself away from the robot and began running alongside it.

"Egg Denizen: Racer," the bot replied.

Sonic blinked, and then grinned. _'I do believe that was a challenge.'_ (4)

* * *

Tails looked up at his opponent. Neck-craning up. Sonic had been removed from the field and the other two opponents that had arrived needed to be dealt with by Rock and Roll since they were clearly roboticized masters and only those two were able to restore them to normal.

They'd left Rush and Tango to help him, but Tails was thinking that he might need some heavier artillery as his opponent was the size of a small house. And what he hadn't forked over to Shadow needed to be saved for the robot master army he knew was coming later. The one that could keep getting back up every time they were destroyed thanks to the fuzzy time/space of the Zone. And Tails _knew_ their luck wasn't good enough for that to have changed as a result of the Skaia merge.

"Hey, big guy," he chuckled nervously. "What's your name?"

"Egg," the machine shook the earth as it punctuated the statement by stomping one foot.

"Denizen," the earth shook again as the other foot was used, and then the flames surrounding the robot's head flared intensely as it prepared for battle.

"Forge."

* * *

Rock was quickly finding out that Rouge Woman was not the pushover she'd been the first time around. Then, she'd been one more robot master-level opponent among many in the middle of an incredibly chaotic melee where keeping track of all combatants was impossible. Then, it had been relatively easy to catch her off-guard and blast her back to normal.

Now? Now it was proving somewhat more difficult. Now Rock had her undivided attention while her companion squared off with his sister, and she was proving very competent.

"Gah!" he cried out as he took a glancing hit from the Black Wave weapon and fell under the stunning effect. Completely immobile, he couldn't defend himself as Rouge Woman flew forward and kicked him square in the torso.

Rock tumbled across the battlefield and assessed his options. Her targeting systems were extremely good, her weapon fired blasts as big as his charged shots, and even a glancing blow from one left him stunned and defenseless to a follow-up strike.

Okay, threat assessed. What were his options?

* * *

Roll dodged another barrage of bullets from Omega Man and took cover behind a convenient boulder. She'd taken a couple of hits already and she really couldn't afford to take any more.

The Omega Gatling relentlessly chewed up nearly any cover she could spot. In addition, the near-constant barrage meant she was having trouble assessing her options for negating or overcoming the weapon. She didn't have much that could outright block it, and of that even fewer could be used offensively. (5)

And if she didn't strike a decisive blow, she'd likely not get a second shot.

_'Think, Roll,'_ she ordered her processor. _'Think, think, think!'_

* * *

Egg Denizen: Racer was not only fast, he was brutal and relentless in his attacks. It was taking practically all of Sonic's concentration just to keep pace and dodge at the moment, leaving precious little to counter-attack with.

Then he heard the familiar sound of Shadow cursing up a storm and decided that a change of tactics was in order.

"Hey Shadow!" he called as he led his own opponent towards the other melee between the ultimate lifeform and a robot that could command plants. "Trade ya!"

"I don't need your help!" Shadow yelled, but still turned towards his rival, hands glowing yellow. "CHAOS SPEAR!"

Sonic grinned as the burst of energy slammed into his opponent and vaulted over Shadow, wreathing himself in flames. It had been a while since he broke out his fire-based abilities, but a plant-based opponent was the perfect opportunity to dust them off.

* * *

"Okay," Knuckles growled. "These two are good."

The fight against the Egg Denizens was not going as quickly as they'd hoped. Hunter and Prophet were simply too coordinated with each other. They'd struck some decent blows, but nothing decisive yet.

"We need to at least disable one of their weapons," Espio agreed.

"I know just the one," Blues stated as his Sit-Rep system finished target analysis. With that statement hanging in the air, he whistled a piercing note.

Beat hurtled down out of the sky like a bullet and raked his talons across the laser weapon in Prophet's forehead, leaving it a sparking scar in the Egg Denizen's face.

"Nice!" Vector exulted. "Okay! Dog-pile on the one that's still armed!"

* * *

Silver grunted as he used his psychic powers to suppress the disorientation field that Egg Denizen: Princess was putting out. "Take Knight out quickly! I'm not sure how long I can hold this!"

"Ye heard the bloke, mates!" Marine ordered. "Let's show this land-lubbin' bilge rat what-for!"

* * *

Egg Denizen: General had easily proved to be a match for two skilled blade-wielders, but Sally and Antoine had succeeded in occupying its full attention while Rotor and Bunnie took out her minions. With more leeway on that front, Bunnie had thrown Rotor at the Egg Denizen's back where he put his favorite offensive invention to use and unleashed a few hundred decibels of sound energy straight through her armor and into her delicate inner workings.

* * *

Tails had a hard time dealing with Egg Denizen: Forge given his necessary, but self-imposed, handicap. Nevertheless; through use of the Rush Jet, a bag of grain dust from his subspace pocket to temporarily and explosively douse the flames around the robots head, and a volleyball spike of Tango's 'spin dash' mode through said vulnerable robot head; he'd prevailed.

Now to get back to his own robot allies before something happened to them.

* * *

Rock had hit on an idea, and was now putting it into action. Switching to the Chroma Camo, he goaded Rouge Woman into firing on him as he faded from view. And then promptly shouted like he'd been hit anyway.

As the roboticized master dove in for a melee strike, he side-stepped the blow unseen and allowed herself to become embedded in the relatively soft ground. Wasting no time, he switched back to his Mega Buster, charged up, and fired.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 26%

* * *

As Roll analyzed the weapons at her disposal, she recalled an old television show regarding substances that could stop bullets and got an idea. She switched to the Hydrokinesis weapon and waited for an opening.

When she heard the hail of bullets cease momentarily, she leaped from cover and fired at the roboticized master even as he finished reloading and fired upon her. The hail of bullets met the oncoming rush of water and failed to either penetrate or even slow it down.

Roll immediately switched to her buster and charged the weapon even as she herself charged towards her opponent. As Omega Man started to stir, she fired...

... and blinked in surprise at what appeared to be a small bird next to Omega Man's weapon orb.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 24%

* * *

Getting Shadow to listen had been difficult, but Sonic had managed through mentioning that Rouge and Omega had been roboticized and were even now squaring off against Rock and Roll. Shadow had been pretty insistent on following him back after that.

_'How the heck have I not yet made a music pun regarding those two?'_ (6) Sonic wondered idly to himself as he and Shadow raced into the spot where he'd last seen the two robots...

...and found them and Tails already talking with a restored Rouge and flicky-Omega. Wow. Sonic had forgotten that Omega could sometimes do that. It was something of a toss-up most Loops if the non-looping E-series bot was a full robot or a flicky-in-a-robot like many of the other E-series bots. But most Loops it really didn't matter. Until Rouge had programmed a little something that would allow flicky-Omega to actually exit his robot form and later re-integrate with it. Sonic knew she kept several flash drives with the program in her subspace pocket, but he'd really only personally seen Omega make use of it once or twice in the Loops. Even when a flicky, Omega preferred his robot form.

"–and that's why I've taken to carrying Omega's robot body in my subspace pocket when he's out like this," Rouge finished, producing Omega's usual robot body as she did. The bird chirped happily and promptly flew into the open cranium, turning to an energy form as he did so.

"E-123 Omega back online," the robot monotoned as his head panel shut itself. That at least never changed. No matter the variant, Omega's voice box was incapable of conveying emotional undertones. "Ready to lay waste to the worthless consumer models of Drs. Eggman and Wily."

"I think you're going to get your chance," Roll informed them as she shifted to a red and black coloration with yellow highlights.

_'Must be Omega Man's weapon,'_ Sonic reasoned.

"Yeah," Rock formed his arm into a cannon as he shifted to a white and black coloration with pink highlights of Rouge Woman's weapon. "We've got company."

Two more Egg Denizens tromped out of the woods nearby. One seemed to be a young female-style model, except for the flames her hands were generating, while the other looked like a fat guy made from a mass of metal vines. Sonic could swear he smelled wine in the air all of a sudden as well.

"Surrender in the name of the Eggman-Wily Empire!" the female ordered. "So say Egg Denizen: Vine and Egg Denizen: Hearth."

* * *

Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters had been having a rough day trying to make it to the Wily Egg. After Egg Denizen: General had fallen, they'd faced the pair known as Egg Denizen: Cup and Egg Denizen: Barbarian.

The first appeared to be some kind of young female holding up a gigantic bowl, looking for all the world like a giant wine glass with a novelty stem. She also didn't really seem to do much in the way of combat.

The latter on the other hand was incredibly strong, relentless, and seemed utterly invincible. It had taken the four mobians a bit before they realized that Egg Denizen: Cup's whole shtick was healing her ally, and that she actually didn't have any personal offensive or defensive powers of her own.

Fortunately, Egg Denizen: Barbarian wasn't exactly a tactical genius. He'd allowed the Freedom Fighters to get between him and his healing support and before he'd realized what was happening, Antoine had dealt with the healer. Without constant regeneration, the barbarian model was merely 'very tough' and had eventually fallen to their coordinated efforts.

Then there was their current opponent. Egg Denizen: Meme. An utterly passive female robot who had trapped the group and herself in some sort of demented quiz show. According to her, they had to answer all of her questions correctly. A single wrong answer, lie, or 'I don't know' and the speaker's life was forfeit. A single refusal, and all the lives of the questioned were forfeit.

It had started out with some rather easy personal questions, followed by a series of trivia questions that made Sally very thankful Rock and Roll had volunteered data on their home reality to NICOLE. Then the questions had started to get tricky.

"Who would win in a battle between Sonic and Mega Man?" volleyed Meme.

"Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily," Sally shot back without hesitation.

Meme scowled. "Who shall you face in battle after myself?"

"Someone who eez not you, I think," Antoine sniffed disdainfully.

"Where are your friends right now?" Meme grinned evilly.

Rotor's eyes narrowed. "The four of us are here with you. The rest are somewhere else."

"Honestly, sugah-bot," Bunnie put her hand on her hip in exasperation before Meme could ask another question. "Exactly how many more questions we gotta answer before ya' let us on our way?"

Meme got an ugly look on her face. "As many as it takes."

"That answer is not exact," NICOLE interjected.

Meme's ugly look turned to one of horror as her own trap executed her for a wrong answer. (7)

* * *

Blues, Knuckles, and the Chaotix weren't exactly having an easy time of things since getting rid of Hunter and Prophet. First they'd been ambushed by some snake-woman robot named Egg Denizen: Gorgon who had eye-beams that turned their target to stone. Simply not getting hit had been one heck of a chore, especially given their mountainous route, but a rockslide caused by Mighty had buried the terrible foe at the base of the cliff.

Their current foes didn't have such a terrifying ability, but they were a force to be reckoned with regardless.

Egg Denizen: Cyclone hurtled gale force winds everywhere from the two tubes on his back, keeping the entire group grounded while Egg Denizen: Joker was throwing bombs filled with Chaos Energy without any sort of care for where they landed, disrupting the whole landscape. It was a toss-up right now what would topple first, their group or the mountain around them.

* * *

Blaze and her allies weren't having a fun time. The strange figure of Egg Denizen: Crossroad, that of three females apparently joined at the back, was disturbing, but the figure itself seemed to have no movement or offensive ability. Its _defensive_ ability was proving to be somewhat more problematic however.

The fact that each of the three faces had summoned another Egg Denizen to combat the group was a fair bit worse for their situation.

Amy and Cream, along with Cheese, had their hands full with the feminine Egg Denizen: Flower, whose large petals spawned masses of smaller ones that could not only damage and inhibit the combatants, but teleported around the battlefield at random.

Silver was in a solo battle against what looked like a mechanical satyr called Egg Denizen: Wild, who generated all manner of energy-beasts to fight alongside him.

Blaze herself was partnered with Marine again against the massively unpredictable Egg Denizen: Box. The designs on the box-shaped foe depicted the story of a woman who opened a magical jar and unleashed unspeakable horrors on the world. Like the jar in the story, Egg Denizen: Box would play a jaunty 'Jack-in-the-box' tune before opening up and unleashing some manner of disastrous result. Blaze and Marine had yet to land a blow on their primary foe because they were so tied up in fending off the latest _thing_ it had unleashed.

And throughout it all, Blaze could sense the immobile Crossroad feeding power to the other three and enhancing their abilities while they in turn fed the defenses keeping Crossroad protected from direct assaults.

* * *

Egg Denizen: Hearth and Egg Denizen: Vine had proven to be little issue against the combined might of both Shadow's team as well and Sonic and Mega Man's. The problem was that the alcoholic fumes Vine had saturated the battlefield with had left the organic members of Shadow's team (Sonic and Tails had gone after Hearth instead) rather tipsy even after the two groups separated.

As a result, the female assassin-robot known as Egg Denizen: Vengeance was giving the trio of Rouge, Shadow, and Omega a much harder time than it should have. Shadow and Rouge's reflexes were off until the alcohol worked through their systems, and Omega had always had trouble with assassin-style opponents. He was built for raw force engagements, not fighting opponents who relied on stealth and precision.

"Show yourself, worthless servant of Eggman and Wily!" Omega blared at the surrounding forest as he did his best to cover his teammates.

* * *

Sonic wiped his brow of sweat after the latest encounter with yet another Denizen/Egg-something-or-other mish-mash, the ruins of the twin monstrosities 'Dawn' and 'Dusk' lying nearby. This was officially getting ridiculous. He was certain none of his other friends were having this hard of a time making their way to the Wily Egg.

"You know, with all of the enemies showing up now that didn't the first time, I wonder what else the doctors have in store for us that they didn't before," Rock mused.

"Not sure if he'd risk the Stardroids or not," Roll stated. "The Dimensions for certain. Probably the CRORQ Numbers as well. Huh... Getting a few conflicting memories on three of the latter."

Rock paused for a moment. "I see what you mean. CRORQ's Wave Man might be called Water Man, his Blade Man might be Razor Man, and his Oil Man might be Grease Man (8). Huh. Also, it seems Wily's little altered history includes some robots called the Constellation Droids, and an ally of ours named... Good circuits, does this Fan guy not have a personality?"

"I met him in one of my failed lives, and it doesn't seem like it," Roll admitted. "Creepy, right?"

"No kidding," Rock shuddered. "There are toasters out on the market with more depth of character."

"Not that this isn't fascinating," Sonic cut in, "but are any of those guys you mentioned a problem?"

"The Stardroids certainly would be," Rock allowed, "but I'm not sure if Wily could control them, even with how screwy this place is. The Constellation Droids are fairly tough, but not a whole lot more than usual. Could be twelve or fourteen of them depending if Wily thinks he can control Apollo and Luna. Dimensions aren't much tougher than the normal robot masters, same with the CRORQ numbers. Though one of the first three is called Sonic Man."

"WHAT?!" Sonic growled. "Why that... I'll _sue!_"

"Chill," Rock suppressed a chuckle. "His design is actually aquatic. The name is because he uses sound waves."

Sonic didn't seem to hear as he continued gnashing his teeth.

"Hey, guys!" Tails called from the crest of a nearby hill. "Come quick!"

The rest of the group quickly convened on him and he pointed towards a lake, or at least as close to one as this place was likely to get, at the bottom of the other side. Or rather, at the lone figure seated at the shore, clearly fishing.

"Hey, it's Big!" Sonic brightened. "Let's go say h–"

Rock cut him off with a firm hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "Wait."

"What gives?" Sonic returned quizzically. "It's just Big. He's a cool guy."

"More like Big Man," Roll revealed gravely. "He's a roboticized master. (9)"

Sonic's eyes went wide. "Aw, yertz."

* * *

Egg Denizen: Vengeance was getting bolder. Her attacks were getting harder for Omega to effectively counter while he protected his alcohol-affected allies. Any moment now and she would decide to move in for the kill.

"Damnit," Shadow groaned. He'd been just a hair too slow in dodging one of their opponent's strikes and had a ringing in his head to go with the alcohol-induced disorientation. Rouge was out cold after taking a hit herself. He needed to give Omega an edge. Willing the pain down, he put his hand to the robot's frame and channeled as much Chaos Force as he could muster. "Chaos... Control..."

Time in the area around them slowed to a crawl as Shadow used the warping technique. Omega quickly spotted their stealthy opponent making a dash from her cover towards them in what could have been a decisive strike had Shadow not acted.

"Exterminate," Omega intoned as he unleashed a barrage of weapons fire that proved Egg Denizen: Vengeance wasn't a particularly heavily armored model.

* * *

With all the trouble they were having, Blaze decided it might be best to switch opponents. She'd turned her fire powers on Egg Denizen: Flower to great effect and directed the rest to act similarly.

Silver had used his psychic powers to forcibly hold Egg Denizen: Box's lid shut, which caused it to explode from forces it couldn't contain. This left Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Marine to handle Egg Denizen: Wild and his energy beasts while Blaze and Silver caught their breaths from exertion. Once the satyr-form robot fell, Egg Denizen: Crossroad would be a sitting duck.

* * *

The Chaotix, plus Knuckles and Blues, had gotten lucky. That's all there was to it. Vector had gotten fed up with the suppressing wind and continuous bombardment, no matter how poorly the latter was aimed, and pulled out a baseball bat from his subspace pocket. As one of the chaos-energy bombs came in, on target for once, he'd swung with all his might and somehow hit the thing through the gale winds towards Egg Denizen: Cyclone where it detonated beautifully, blowing the wind-based robot to pieces. (10)

With freedom of movement restored Charmy, Ray, Knuckles, and Beat took to the skies while the rest scattered outwards from where they'd been pinned down. It was time to press a counter-offensive against Egg Denizen: Joker.

* * *

"What are those things, Sally girl?" Bunnie asked from where the Freedom Fighters were holed up at the base of a mountain. Above that mountain floated their objective, the Wily Egg. In their way stood what looked like two more Egg Denizens.

One was female and had spear-length spines sticking out of her back. The other was probably male and looked like it belonged in a monster movie stomping through downtown and basically trashing everything in its path. Both were, in a word, huge.

"I don't know," Sally responded. "NICOLE, what's the assessment on our potential hostiles?"

"They are Egg Denizen: Mother and Egg Denizen: Father."

The Freedom Fighters blinked as one. That hadn't been NICOLE's voice...

* * *

Sonic and the rest had carefully made their way down to where Big Man was fishing – there was no sign of Big's pet Froggy, robot or otherwise – but they needn't have bothered. The sumo-sized robot master didn't even look up as they approached. He just kept fishing.

"So... Now what?" Sonic scratched his head. They had Big Man dead to rights, but taking him out like this just... didn't seem proper.

"Let's try talking with him," Rock suggested, keeping his arm cannon ready just in case as he approached the roboticized master and addressed him. "Big Man, I presume? I'm Rock Light, also known as Mega Man. I'd prefer not to fight you if possible, so if you'll cooperate we can restore you to your biological state without any sort of unpleasantness. I promise that you'll be treated peacefully and respectfully."

"Okay," Big Man replied without looking up.

_'That worked?!'_ Sonic stared incredulously. He wasn't the only one either.

"After fishing," Big Man finished.

As Sonic proceeded to facefault into the ground (11), any doubts that this was really Big were reduced to smithereens.

"Okay..." Rock agreed, looking a bit confused. He'd offered the peaceful option to numerous robot masters, but having one _take_ it was throwing him off. "Why are you fishing?"

"Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily told unit Big Man to do what he does best," the roboticized master responded. "So unit Big Man fishes. Unit Big Man must catch a big one."

"So..." Tails offered, looking as confused as everyone else.

"...I guess we wait for him to catch a fish?" Roll suggested.

* * *

"I am Egg Denizen: Consort," the female robot informed the gathered Freedom Fighters. She was expertly crafted with the appearance of a noble woman in her best finery. A robotic 'trophy wife'. "I am not here to fight you, merely to inform you that I am the one who maintains the barrier around the mountain you see ahead. The barrier that keeps the abode of the masters Eggman and Wily inviolate."

Rotor unleashed a shockwave of sound that washed over Consort and dissipated without so much as an indication that it had even connected.

"As my barrier is inviolate, so am I," Consort continued, uncaring of the power just levied against her. "I can neither be attacked nor myself attack others. Only a symbol of eternal love can pierce my protections (12), so you had best abandon your folly here and now. Even were you to slay me, Mother and Father are too strong for you and yours. Go home and prepare yourselves to welcome your new masters."

* * *

"Hey, Sonic?" Roll asked as something occurred to her. "How big a fish could Big Man catch anyway?"

* * *

Crossroad had barely gone down when a wave of water swept over the battlefield. Marine managed to shield herself, Cream, Cheese, and Amy with her hydrokinesis abilities; but Blaze and Silver had been swept up and knocked unconscious against the treeline.

"Avast ye lubbers!" called the voice of their opponent, a robotic humanoid crustacean in pirate garb, holding a long trident in his single hand, the other arm ending in a bladed crab claw. "Surrender yeselves to the glorious admirals Eggman and Wily!"

"Or what ye Davy Jones wannabe?!" Marine yelled back. "You surrender ta me and maybe I won't keelhaul ya fer what ye did ta me mates!"

"Watch yer tongue, wench!" the pirate-bot snapped back, brandishing the trident at the still-conscious trio. "I be Egg Denizen: Tide, and I'll run ye all through before I'll allow such talk!"

* * *

Sonic thought to all the battles Big had put his fishing rod through. All the stress he put on a seemingly flimsy object that never even creaked in protest, much less broke. He thought to how Big was able to lift things that he'd only ever seen his old friend Mighty pick up before. He thought about how Big could stop the spinning sawblade over twice his size that was Silver Sonic using his bare (well, gloved) hands and without even being pushed back by the impact. And then tossing the giant robot several dozen feet in the air with minimal effort.

* * *

In the end, Espio had taken down Joker. The Chaotix ninja had camouflaged himself, swiped one of the chaos-energy bomb's right out of the Egg Denizen's hand, and pinned it to Joker's back. Events had proceeded rather predictably from there.

Blues, Knuckles, and the Chaotix had trudged out of the mountain area at long last and on towards the Wily Egg, only to be confronted by yet another of the Egg Denizens about halfway there. This one looked like a buff, bearded man wielding a sort of zig-zagged javelin. His lower body was either hidden by the lightning-spitting could he rode, or the cloud itself was the robot's lower body. It was hard to tell.

"Tremble ye mortals at the power of the chief servant of Eggman and Wily!" the figure boomed with a voice like thunder. "For I am Egg Denizen: Storm and none shall not pass!"

* * *

"Very," Sonic replied, getting a sinking feeling in his gut as Big Man's fishing rod began to jerk and bend as the roboticized master got a bite.

* * *

Shadow and Rouge had finally recovered enough from their mild involuntary intoxication to proceed without issue. Leaving the scattered remains of Vengeance behind, the three sometimes known as Team Dark made their way out of the twisted forest and towards the Wily Egg.

Only to meet a terrifying robot standing in their path.

The fact that the three were terrified immediately told them something was up. They'd seen too much, fought too many deadly foes, to feel this kind of fear permeating their bones. There was no explanation except that it was being induced artificially.

"Malevolent empathic aura detected," Omega droned, only the shaking of his armor indicating that he felt the effects as well.

"You are every bit as good as your files say," the voice of the robot replied as it turned towards them. Shadows clung to the robot like a cloak, obscuring its precise form from view save for a single arm that held a two-pronged pitchfork with a wickedly curved scythe blade at one end. Red eyes glowed sinisterly from beneath a pitch black helm that looked as if it belonged only on the most evil of undead warlords.

"We are better than anything you've heard," Shadow shot back with confidence he barely held onto. "We will be victorious."

"No," the figure rebutted as its second arm came out to grasp its weapon, a glowing orb at the center of the robot's torso that pulsed like a living heart was revealed by the movement. "You will be dead. So says Egg Denizen: Reaper."

* * *

Rock, Roll, and their allies watched as Big Man reeled in his catch... and the water of the 'lake' crest upwards as something _huge_ was pulled out of it.

The robotic fish/squid-thing that broke the surface towered over the figures below it, and both Sonic and Tails reacted without thought and attacked it. Rock and Roll followed their lead and fired on the leviathan, causing it to roar as if in pain and fall back into the lake. Damaged, but nowhere near enough to defeat it.

"Reevaluating orders," Big Man intoned as he stared at the downed robot that could only be an Egg Denizen. "Unit Big Man was ordered to do what unit Big Man does best. What unit Big Man does best is fish."

Roll wasn't sure she liked where this was going and began charging up her Mega Buster.

"What unit Big Man also does best is protect 'friends'. Unit Big Man serves Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily."

"Aww... _no_," Rock heard Sonic whisper off to the side where he and Tails had landed.

"Egg Denizen: Kraken also serves Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily," Big man began to turn around to face the group of heroes. "Conclusion. Egg Denizen: Kraken is unit Big Man's 'friend'."

Roll fired her charged Spin Dash Blast to restore Big Man before things progressed any farther. But even with a direct hit, he didn't revert to normal. He just sparked a bit from the stunning properties, and didn't even slow down as he faced the opposing group, the form of Egg Denizen: Kraken rising up behind him. (13)

**"You shall not hurt unit Big Man's friend!"**

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 22%

* * *

"It's confirmed," Hephaestus grumbled. "I just finished running the analysis. All of the higher success paths that keep getting bypassed involved losses on the part of Sonic and his friends or outright capture of Rock and his siblings as well as Sonic. These paths would have led to overconfident doctors ripe for a last-minute reversal of fortune. But the continued victories and successes are pitting them against much more dangerous foes and driving the doctors towards as-yet undetermined desperation tactics which have a much higher chance of resulting in the failure of this attempt."

"And it would be wrong to tweak things towards such a scenario now," Hermes sighed. "They'd never forgive us. Even if they knew it was hurting their overall chances, they wouldn't have it any other way. For all Sonic and his pals are willing to do the 'heroic sacrifice' bit, letting others, especially friends, die to increase their chances of success kind of goes against their grain."

"Goes against _their_ grain?" Hephaestus raised an eyebrow. "The Light family and 'acceptable losses' haven't been on speaking terms for _generations_."

* * *

Rock and Roll high-fived each other to pass on the weapons they'd collected and agreed to double team Big Man while Sonic and Tails took Rush and Tango to deal with Kraken. At least, that's how it was _supposed_ to work. Big Man, it seemed, had other ideas.

Shrugging off a double barrage of the Omega Gatling, Big Man cast his fishing rod at Tails, entangled the flying fox, and swung him straight into the ground.

* * *

The Freedom Fighters were getting nowhere against Consort. Everything they threw at her simply... slid off. The only thing that was saving them right now was that she didn't attack back. She just stood there and let them waste their energy against her.

But NICOLE had confirmed the existence of a barrier around the mountain that was their goal. A barrier maintained by Consort. So they _had_ to figure out some way of rendering her inoperable.

If they didn't, then there was no hope for any of them.

* * *

Rock and Roll attempted the Black Wave next, but the stunning weapon didn't even make Big Man pause as he repeated his fishing attack on Sonic. Both of the siblings motioned for their animal companions to back off from the battle and support from outside the range of Kraken's thrashing tentacles and Big Man's Fishing Rod.

The two siblings nodded to each other. They needed to run through their weapon options a little faster to find something that worked against the sumo-sized Big Man.

* * *

Shadow sneered at Reaper and tried to suppress the shivering the robot's unnatural aura produced in him. Ha and Rouge had barely dodged a swipe by the Egg Denizen's scythe as Omega fell back and opened fire.

"Your pitiful metal balls cannot harm me," Reaper taunted as his shadowy cloak absorbed Omega's bullets. "They are of the dark earth and fall within my domain. As shall your bodies when your fleeting lives have left them. Submit and spare yourselves unnecessary pain."

"You don't know us too well, do you?" Rouge taunted back with confidence Shadow could clearly see she didn't feel. It didn't matter, the minor distraction gave him a moment to access his subspace pocket and pull out a few weapons of a... different sort.

Shadow only rarely encountered the alien race known as the Black Arms who claimed he was secretly an agent of theirs in the Loops. They hadn't shown up this Loop to gather weapons from, but they had in the last one after Hermes dropped by to ask if they'd help this place start looping. By Shadow's count, it had been the 326th time he'd encountered them. Every time different, and to date no clear resolution to the questions they raised about his pre-Loop origins.

But trying to discover what the secret behind the Black Arms was last Loop had taken a back seat to Shadow plundering every member of the hostile alien race he ran across for their unique energy weapons and shoving them in his subspace pocket (14). And now he brought them out.

Time to see how Egg Denizen: Reaper handled lasers instead of bullets.

* * *

Roll's use of the Rapid Stinger and Rock's attempt with the Omochao weapon simply bounced off of Big Man's armor. He ignored the hits as he sent Sonic in full Spin Dash mode rocketing back with a palm strike.

* * *

(This section by masterofgames)

Water and other attacks flew fast and furious across the battlefield between Egg Denizen: Tide and his three female (and one chao) opponents. The piratical insults between the robot and Marine flew even faster. Tide had fired off a few good ones, but Marine finally decided to stop holding back. "That be it! No more miss nice gal! Remember me name in the scrap heap ya' fact'ry reject! I be Marine, and I be a Mighty Pirate™!"

Tide simply laughed. "Har! Try say'n that again when ye be taller than a trout, ya shrimp!"

Marine simply grinned, thinking back to a loop long ago. "Size is nay important! A fight is more than just wavin' about yer weapon. It actually be a lot like a romant'c date. It be not so much what ye do, as what ye say!"

Tide simply scowled. "Tha' be making no sense! Shut ye yap and fight! I swear, ye fight like a dairy farmer!"

Marine's eyes twinkled. She was in the zone. "How appropriate, ye fight like a cow!" she quipped.

Tide paused, blinking as he thought over the insult thrown back in his face. Which gave Marine an easy shot to kick him in the face.

"Ha! Ye see? Sharp tongue beats sharp steel!" she whooped as Tide recoiled.

"Ye'll pay for that dearly! Me attacks have left entire islands depopulated!"

"With yer breath, I bet they all suffocated!" Marine smirked, her cutting barb leaving him open for a cheap shot once more.

"Aargh! Stop that! I be able to out-wrestle octopi!"

"Aye, and I be sure spineless creatures everywhere be tremblin' at yer might!"

"Yarr! Soon ye be wearing me trident like a shish-kabob!"

"Not if ye keep wavin' it 'round like a feather duster!"

"Bah! Ye be outmatched! Just earlier t'day, twelve men I've beaten!"

"By the size of yer gut, I be guessing they be eaten!"

"Ye got a real attitude problem, ye know that?"

"Well ye have a real hair problem!"

"Ye just don't know when to stop, do ye?"

"Nay, An neither did yer barber I think!"

"Grr... Look over there!"

"Aye, aye, I know, it be a three headed monkey..."

"Oh... ye heard that one before, eh?"

"EVERYONE be hearing that one before! Step up yer game!"

* * *

Roll fired the Acoustic Blaster at full charge while Rock unleashed the Shockwave Boomer. Big Man didn't even seem to notice he'd been hit as he snagged Tails in his fishing line and swung him around into an already dazed Sonic.

* * *

Actually hitting Egg Denizen: Storm was going to be a problem. He was deadly accurate with the lightning bolts he flung out and even Beat hadn't been small or fast enough to evade them in time to inflict damage on their floating opponent. And it seemed he could deflect Blues's buster shots as well as return fire at the same time.

The group had scattered, taking advantage of the fact that they now had a wide open space to keep from being corralled as with their previous opponents. But even splitting themselves as targets and dividing Storm's attention was only giving them momentary reprieves.

They needed to come up with something fast.

* * *

Roll swore as the Psycho Burst failed to have any appreciable effect on Big Man, and signaled for her brother to use Hydrokinesis to cover for Sonic and Tails while they tried to keep Egg Denizen: Kraken busy. The torrent of water seemed to hamper Big Man's movements a bit, but it just wasn't dealing more than superficial damage.

The siblings cursed and switched weapons again.

* * *

Bunnie was starting to crack. None of them could figure out how to get past Consort's defenses enough to even scratch her, much less take her out of commission. They were going to fail. Even if everyone else succeeded, they would all fail unless the Freedom Fighters could defeat this foe.

She put her head in her hands to hide the tears she felt coming, and spotted a particular something on her finger. Her wedding ring.

_Only a symbol of eternal love can pierce my protections._ (14)

* * *

Rock swore internally as the Trick Sword barely nicked Big Man's armor. He'd picked an ineffective close range weapon against a powerful opponent. This was going to _hurt_.

"CHAOS CANNON!" came Roll's cry as Big Man wound up for a retaliatory strike. The shot was dead on for the roboticized master's arm, which made it incredibly surprising when that arm didn't even slow down as it passed through the temporal distortion projectile and clotheslined Rock, sending him flying across the battlefield.

Rock rubbed his neck as he switched to the Stealth Mine while his sister chose the Tail Wind. As Big Man again tore Sonic and Tails away from assaulting his giant aquatic partner, they hoped that maybe these weapons would fare better.

* * *

Shade knew she was in deep trouble. She'd left on her own to scout the way to the Wily Egg given that she could move faster solo than with a group, but getting to the destination quickly had been the only thing to go right for her.

She'd been in the middle of cracking the password for the doctors' teleporter when the barrier around the surrounding mountain had gone up (16). Trying to contact anyone outside had only gotten her the gloating laughter of the two mad doctors joyfully informing her that their two most powerful Egg Denizens, Mother and Father, were inside the barrier with her. And actively looking for her.

So far, she'd managed to stay ahead of the two robotic behemoths and not engage them. Her comparatively little Loop experience hadn't allowed her to gain anywhere near the power or tools to take out even _one_ of those monstrosities on her own, much less both at once.

The problem was that she was running out of places to hide on the mountain while they stomped around in search of her. She needed to call the cavalry in, and soon.

* * *

Rock and Roll switched out their weapons again. Tail Wind hadn't even made Big Man budge, and getting him to step on a Stealth Mine hadn't fared any better.

Rock opened fire with the Rabbot Laser as Roll unleashed the Fire Tornado. When the flames died down, Big Man was only a little singed around the edges.

Big Man ignored the two in order to try and again interfere with Sonic and Tails' attack on his robotic leviathan companion. Rush and Tango had long since given up supportive fire after nearly hitting one of their other-dimensional allies amidst the chaotic melee.

* * *

Bunnie hadn't been a looper long enough to get the kind of goodies the more experienced of her friends and allies had access to, but Tails and Sonic were perfectly willing to share some of what they'd come across. Earlier this Loop, Tails had installed a setting for something called a rail gun on her cybernetic arm, but with some of his own personal improvements so it didn't do things like produce heat in quantities that would fry both her flesh and metal bits alike. Bunnie didn't understand all the terms he'd used, though she thought she'd heard 'technomagical' in there somewhere, but the thing worked.

Hoo boy, did it ever work.

And the best part? Whatever Tails had done with his improvements meant it could fire anything metallic and conductive. Like her wedding ring.

Even knowing what she needed to do, regardless of any lack of guarantee it would work, the act of removing the ring for this purpose was still painful. Bunnie fought back tears as she loaded it into the weapon and began charging the magnetic accelerators.

"Ah'm sorry sugah 'Twan," she whispered as she took aim. "Ah hope ya can forgive me luv."

The recoil from firing nearly knocked Bunnie off her mechanical feet, but she remained standing long enough to see the shot rip through Consort's barrier and her torso both.

And to see that the Egg Denizen still stood in spite of it. Her barrier once again inviolate.

_'No...'_ Bunnie thought in despair as a tear escaped her eye.

* * *

Roll came in from one side with the Sharp Knuckle while Rock came from the other with the Mighty Blow. Big Man simply held out his hands and caught both of the robots' fists, and turned the action into a grab before either could disengage.

Heaving his arms upwards, Big Man flung both of the robots into the air where Kraken then slammed both back into the ground many yards away with its tentacles.

"We can't take much more of this," Rock groaned as the pair got to their feet.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I snagged a few of these before we left your place," the voice of Sonic came from right next to them. Turning, the robotic siblings saw their hedgehog ally holding out a pair of E-Tanks.

"It's a _very_ good thing," Roll agreed as she grabbed the one for her and eagerly guzzled its contents.

* * *

Reaper had been good, very good, at deflecting the energy weapons with his scythe and retaliating in kind. The robot could probably have given General Grievous a run for his money despite having fewer limbs.

But once Omega had gotten a hold on the polearm and grappled the Egg Denizen for it, it was all over. Unable to dodge and unwilling to release his weapon to fix that, Reaper had been shot full of so many holes that even his apparently rapid self-repair systems couldn't keep up. In short order, all that was left was the pulsing core which Shadow collected.

"Starting a trophy collection are we?" Rouge teased the dark hedgehog.

"Thought it would go with my curtains," Shadow smirked. (17)

* * *

Rock went at Big Man's back with the Electric Blades, and barely managed a scratch. Roll's attempt at hitting the roboticized master over the head with the Piko Hammer met with similarly disappointing results.

The only saving grace was that Sonic and Tails both managed to cover their retreat despite interference from Kraken so they didn't suffer another of Big Man's retaliation strikes.

* * *

Tide had indeed stepped up his game, and had dropped all pretense of trash talk to focus solely on battle. He was proving not only able to match Marine's water abilities blow-for-blow, he was also able to fend off Amy's Piko Hammer with his trident and keep Cream at bay with his bladed claw. Which left Cheese free to take free shots at the robot's face. They weren't doing any real damage, but it was clear that the Egg Denizen was getting very annoyed with the chao.

"Enough!" the robot bellowed, and spun around in a way that forced his two melee opponents to back off, and allowed him to backclaw the plucky chao into a nearby rock.

"CHEESE!" Cream gasped, and turned an angry face towards the pirate-bot. "You..."

"What of it, wench?" Tide spat. "Yer little beastie got what was comin' to 'im and no less."

Cream's body twitched, her fur puffing out messily and her whole posture changing to a much more wild one. She then turned her now feral gaze on the Egg Denizen and screamed her displeasure. "YOU MEANIE!"

Egg Denizen: Tide reflexively backed away from the sudden alteration in his opponent as the feral Cream leaped at him with wild red eyes, bared claws, and big sharp pointy teeth. (18)

"Strewth!" Marine stared in shock.

"S-s-s-s-shiver me timbers-s-s-s-s!" Proclaimed the severed head of Egg Denizen: Tide before it went offline.

* * *

Rock landed from using Ray Glide to dodge an immense assault by Kraken, and Roll similarly decloaked from the Chroma Camo beside him. The two weapons were great at helping them avoid attacks, but they simply didn't have the kind of offensive ability they needed right now.

Big Man was taking damage, sure, but nowhere near enough to where he'd be vulnerable to a use of the Spin Dash Blast. Or at least not a _single_ use...

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the two siblings asked each other at the same time.

* * *

As the Chaotix attempted to discuss options for retaliating against the airborne elemental artillery platform that was Egg Denizen: Storm, Charmy was trying to recall that Loop where he'd been a secret agent. He'd handled this kind of situation all the time then.

"Better put the suit on so I can get the right mindset," Charmy said to himself as he pulled on a tuxedo from his subspace pocket. "Riiigghht. That's how I did things that Loop."

Turning sharply, Charmy zipped up towards his hovering opponent in a wild zig-zag that proved impossible for the robot to lock onto. As he got close, Charmy began to zip around Storm in search of a weak spot.

"Who art thou to challenge me like this?!" Storm demanded.

"Bee," Charmy told him suavely as he continued zipping around his opponent. Just a little longer... "Charmy Bee. Agent 007 of Angel Island Secret Service." (19)

"And you would dare defy the will of the Destined Masters of All Creation?!" Storm boomed, causing the Chaotix member to stop in front of him and turn a puzzled look his way.

"What did you expect us to do?" the formally attired bee questioned. "Surrender?"

"Yes."

Charmy shook his head. "No, no, no. You're supposed to say 'No, Mr. Bee. I expect you to di–'AGH!"

Charmy was cut off as a lighting bolt finally struck him and he began falling to the ground below, trailing smoke.

"Fool!" boomed the robot. "I am Egg Denizen: Storm! I AM INVINCIBLE!"

"Heh," Charmy chuffed as he fell and pointed a finger gun at the weather-bot. "Bang."

Multiple explosions lit up the airborne robot an instant later from the devices Charmy had pulled from his subspace pocket and planted as he'd flown around the robot.

* * *

"Okay," Tails said from where the four had momentarily fallen back to hash out their strategy. Fortunately Kraken didn't seem too inclined to leave the water and Big Man seemed even less inclined to leave Kraken's side. "What's the plan?"

"Big Man's resistant to the Sonic Shot," Rock informed the mobian duo, only for Sonic to interrupt him.

"Admitting that 'Spin Dash Blast' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, just like last time, eh?" Sonic teased.

"Something like that," the blue bomber rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," his sister picked up for him, "we came up with the idea to hit him with both of ours at once, but we'd like to hedge our bets."

"You want us to team up for a quadruple-whammy, right?" Sonic grinned. "Me with blue boy and Tails with miss golden gladiator?"

"Yep," Rock nodded.

"Well let's do it to it!" Tails cheered and led the charge back into battle.

"Hey!" Sonic playfully called after his friend as the Light siblings followed behind, charging their Mega Busters. "Stop stealing my lines!"

Dodging around the strikes of Egg Denizen: Kraken, Rock and Roll reached full charge as both Sonic and Tails revved up their respective Spin Dashes. As one, all four attacked and struck Big Man from both sides simultaneously, causing a cloud of smoke to envelope the roboticized master.

* * *

_'Ah failed...'_

No other thought would penetrate the haze of despair that was Bunnie's mind right now. Her friends shaking her and calling to her elicited no response. It wasn't until Antoine got the idea to kiss her, the kind of kiss they usually reserved for when they were alone no less, that she snapped out of it.

"SUGAH 'TWAN!" She sputtered indignantly as she shoved her husband off of her. "THIS AIN'T THA TIME!"

"Ma chérie," Antoine told her tenderly. "You were not respondink to anythink else, so I figured I would try somethink a little more... persuasive."

"But... Ah failed," Bunnie began to cry as what had happened came crashing back onto her. "Ah'm sorry 'Twan... Ah shot her with mah _wedding ring_ ta give us a chance and it weren't _enough..._"

"Ma femme," Antoine cupped her cheek.

"Don't ya get it luv?!" Bunnie wept. "Ah took tha ring ya gave me when we got _married_ and Ah _wasted_ it. FER NOTHIN'!"

"Not for nothink," he told her gently. "Ze Egg Denizen, she eez immobile. She cannot flee. She eez, how you say, ze sittink duck. Ze shot waz not wasted."

"But," the cyber-rabbit sniffed. "Ah don't _got_ another ring ta shoot her with."

"Mon ange," Antoine kissed her tears tenderly. "Ma petite. Mon lapin vaillant. How silly you can be at times."

"Huh?" she stared at her husband blankly.

Antoine smirked and held up a golden band of his own. "Did you forget zat weddink rings generahlly come in pairs?"

Bunnie stared at her lover as what he'd said sunk in. "But..."

"Mon cher cœur," he halted her protest. "Zese rings are a symbol of ze vows we said for each other, assurément. But zat eez all zey are. We are Freedom Fightairs. The peace and well-beink of others haz always come before such baubles and always will. We have known zis all our lives, each of zem. Zeir absence does not and cannot diminish ze love between us. And besides, we are loopers now, corriger? We shall have many more lifetimes to be married again, in as many ways, with as many vows, and as many rings as we wish. All zat truly matters eez our love, and zat eez somethink zis scélérat cannot make us surrender."

Bunnie couldn't help throwing herself at her husband and kissing him. Antoine could be such the romantic when he wanted to be. A discreet cough from Sally reminded them what the current situation was, and they parted with a wordless promise to pick back up where they'd left off later.

"And mon amour?" he whispered to her as he loaded his symbol of their vows into her weapon. "Zis time... aim for ze head. For clearly zis Consort, she haz no heart."

* * *

A robotic tentacle lashed out at the heroes who had stopped to catch their breath, only for a furry arm to grab it.

"Those are my friends," a voice familiar to both Sonic and Tails admonished the creature. (20)

The smoke cleared to show a hale and hearty Big the Cat firmly grasping the tentacle of Egg Denizen: Kraken. When the robot tried to continue attacking the quartet, Big's eyes narrowed.

"You're trying to hurt my friends," the sumo-sized cat turned and grasped the tentacle he held in both hands. "It's not nice–"

He flexed his muscles. "–to hurt–"

He pulled, and the massive robot was lifted out of the water and over his head. "–my–"

And slammed straight into the shore on Big's other side with a mighty crash. **"–friends!"**

* * *

Bunnie calmly eyed Consort as she lined up her shot. Consort wasn't completely immobile, but Bunnie's first shot had clearly severed something that allowed for control of her limbs. There was no possible way she could dodge this.

"You cannot win," the robot stated defiantly.

"That's what they all say, sugah," Bunnie retorted as she finished aiming, and fired.

Consort's head practically exploded as the golden band ripped through it at ridiculous speeds and continued off into the Zone, never to be seen again.

"A superb shot, ma belle guerrière," Antoine observed.

"Urgent transmission detected," NICOLE suddenly cut in. In an instant, each of the Freedom Fighters were all business.

"Play it, NICOLE," Sally requested.

NICOLE switched to the transmission, and the voice of Shade the Echidna came forth. "–assistance needed! Repeat: This is Shade. I'm trapped on the mountain beneath the Wily Egg by two immense robots named Egg Denizen: Mother and Egg Denizen: Father. Cannot engage on own. All avenues of retreat cut off. Immediate assistance needed! Repeat: This is Shade–"

"NICOLE, relay that message and our position to the others. Tell them we're engaging the hostiles," Sally ordered even as the team of four began moving. Knowledge of Shade's position wasn't really needed right now. All anyone had to do to find her was head for the two fifty-something foot robots.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 20%

* * *

Sonic and the rest of his companions were heading for the mountain under the Wily Egg as fast as possible. Right after they'd gotten Big Man's weapon, Rock and Roll had gotten a transmission that the Freedom Fighters were moving to rescue Shade from a pair of robots even bigger than Kraken had been, and were requesting immediate reinforcements. Rush and Tango had transformed into their jet modes in order to keep up with Sonic and Tails as they zipped across the landscape.

"Whoooaaaaa...!"

And Big... Rock had made an Item-2 ride for him to use. Apparently the kid kept the thing in his database just in case despite the fact that with Rush he didn't ever need it. Big wasn't exactly handling the thing like a pro on Extreme Gear, but the Item-2 jet was a fair bit more stable, making it perfect for the generally ground-bound fisher. And Rock could guide the thing remotely on top of that to keep Big from veering off into the wilds of the bizarre Skaia-fused Skull Egg Zone.

Sonic estimated that they'd be at the base of the mountain in a few minutes, and prayed they weren't already too late.

* * *

Team Dark was making much worse time than Sonic and friends. For whatever reason, they kept getting accosted by robots, many of which looked like they shouldn't even be functional.

"I did not sign up to fight zombie robots!" Rouge complained as she kicked another... something to pieces.

* * *

Silver and Blaze still had some ringing in their heads, but they were conscious. And able to fly their custom Extreme Gear; along with Amy, Marine, and Cream; towards the coordinates Sally had sent them.

Aside from that, everything seemed smooth sailing until then.

* * *

Being the next-closest team to the mountain, Blues, Knuckles, and the Chaotix were already there, mixing it up with the towering robots. But even though they could easily reach these opponents, it's rather hard to fight something that can flatten you simply by taking a step in the right place.

"I've got Shade!"

"Excellent! Fall back and regroup!"

"Where?! With the weapons these things have, the safest place is right beneath them!"

"We gotta do something! We're just not doing enough damage right now!"

"I'm open to suggestions!"

* * *

"As of right now, all of the Egg Denizens have fallen except for Mother and Father," Orbot informed the two doctors. "And if you don't mind me saying so, it looks like only a matter of time before they fall as well."

"Hmph!" Bass scoffed. "That's what you get for sending those weak roboticized masters instead of me. I'd have finished off both Mega Man and Mega Wo–"

_I think I'm..._

–man as well as Sonic and his allies by now." (21)

"Blast it all!" Eggman fumed, ignoring Wily's 'son', before turning to his friend. "They're almost at our doorstep, Albert! What exactly were you working on while I was converting those 'Denizens' to our cause? Because I don't see it stopping them! "

"Calm yourself, Ivo," Wily sipped some coffee from his skull mug as he typed. "We've got our best traps and minions to waylay them saturating the Wily Egg should they get inside, not to mention our various lines of defense. And even if they get past all that, I've spent my time getting _this_ ready."

Eggman stared at the schematics of what Wily had brought up on screen.

"Oh-ho!" he exclaimed in glee. "Albert, that is _brilliant!_ Positively _genius!_ I'm sorry I doubted you!"

"Just a little contingency plan I cooked up," Wily smirked at his friend. _'Along with a few other little surprises,'_ he added to himself. Assuming all went well, Ivo would never need to know about those. "I couldn't have done it without your original notes about that positively _inspiring_ invention of yours though!"

* * *

Even the addition of Blaze's group to the melee didn't seem to be turning the tide. The armor of Mother and Father was too thick for the anyone's standard offense and their combined weapons fire was handily preventing anything stronger from being deployed.

"What's the biggest explosive you have that won't necessarily blow us to smithereens along with them?" Blues asked Shade. He'd determined that prepping a bomb would likely be their best bet at dealing significant damage to one of the two, and Shade seemed to be the explosives expert among her allies.

"It could probably level a small building," Shade responded as the two dodged beneath their massive opponents, "but I'm not sure it's enough to get through their main armor."

"Not from outside at least," Blues agreed. "Which brings me to the next question: How good are you at holding on to a moving vehicle?"

"Pretty good," Shade puzzled. "Why?"

In response, Blues whistled sharply, causing his robot avian companion to dive down towards them both. "Beat! Plane!" (22)

At the order, the bird glowed and seemed to... expand. To an ovular one-seat aviation device that looked a lot like the bird's normal form. Blues jumped in and Shade, for lack of any better ideas, jumped atop the back behind his head and held on tight.

"Keep them distracted!" Blues called to the rest of the fighters as he climbed hard and fast, Shade hanging on for dear life as she prepped her explosive.

Banking around, he dove for Egg Denizen: Father and took careful aim before firing the Beat Plane's main weapon. The plasma fire rained down on the Godzilla-wannabe robot's head and a few hit the behemoth's eye. The kaiju knock-off roared in pain as the Beat Plane flew in front of its face.

"Now!" Blues ordered, and Shade threw her bomb for all it was worth down the gullet of the beast, just as a glow of charging energy began in the back of the throat.

The explosion went off, Father staggering as smoke poured out of its mouth. Then another explosion sounded as the energy weapon it had been priming misfired as a result and began a chain reaction that left little more than a smoking ruin to topple mightily to the ground.

* * *

"Thank you for your assistance," Dr. Lalinde told Dr. Cossack as the latter helped her prepare.

"Think nothing of it," the Russian scientist waved off the thanks. They both knew that Dr. Light and his family were quite capable, but the current situation was unlike anything else in their experience. Thus they were determined to send some form of backup to aid their friend and colleague.

As if summoned by that very thought, a blue glow appeared none too subtly in the lab, resolving itself into the alien robot known as Duo. Given the robot's last known location and the speed he traveled at (at least in-system), Dr. Light must have sent a message to the robot before he'd been captured.

"I have been alerted that there is trouble on Earth!" Duo declared with all the drama he seemed predisposed towards. "And I sense Evil at work. Where shall Justice be served?"

* * *

Rock had wondered if Big Man's weapon, the Fishing Rod, would prove useful, but he and Roll had collected it anyway. They'd been in too many situations where a seemingly useless weapon turned out to be invaluable to disregard any master weapon, no matter how ridiculous. Though, as they approached the mountainside melee with Mother, he admitted that if the Fishing Rod had a use, it wasn't going to be here.

Without Father to cover her, Mother was slowly being overwhelmed by the combatants already present. But some more firepower would surely make the fight go even faster.

He and Roll came in Mega Busters blazing, Sonic and Tails Spin Dashing straight into Mother's unguarded torso, followed by Big in a similar move. Everyone already there seemed to be avoiding the razor spines on her back, and the newcomers hardly blames them. Each one of things looked like they could bisect any of the other Egg Denizens save Father in a single swipe. Avoiding them was just common sense. And with all of the combatants ganging up on her and frustrating her attempts at counter-attack, it was only a matter of time before she went down.

* * *

"Are you all ready?" Bass glared at the gathered defenders of the Wily Egg alongside his 'partner' Metal Sonic. He was a little unsure about some of them, but orders were orders. "Good, because the enemies of the doctors have arrived. Your orders are to keep them from getting to our masters by any means necessary."

_'Why do the two of _us _have to be the last line of defense?'_ he grumbled to himself.

* * *

"Look who finally got here," Shadow taunted his collected allies as they reached the top of the mountain. He idly spun the still-pulsing core of Reaper on his finger while waiting on them. He and his team had been held up by the zombie robots for a while, but they'd eventually decided to stop trying to stem the tide and just get to the destination as fast as possible. The things hadn't been able to follow them.

"Eh," Sonic shrugged, "you know how it is. You're cruising right along and then the doctors drop something nasty in your path. How'd you all get here?"

"We came up the mountain by a different route," Rouge admitted. "Let us scout the area while we waited on you all to finish up."

"Well, thanks for waiting on us," Roll offered politely.

"Multiple incoming hostiles detected," Omega interrupted, looking straight at the Wily Egg.

"Oh, look," Sonic smirked as he saw a stream of figures emerge from the Wily Egg. "Here comes the welcoming committee."

"Even knowing this was coming..." Rock readied his buster nervously, his siblings doing the same.

"Too late for cold feet now," Sonic stood there casually. "Besides, it's like I told you last time we did this dance, we've spent our whole lives, several of them, trashing evil robots, overcoming impossible odds, and fighting the good fight."

Descending upon the gathered heroes was the robot master army being fielded by Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily. Some flew under their own power, while others rode levitating platforms down. Almost everyone Rock and Roll had ever fought was there: Dr Wily's first set of original robot masters, Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man, and Wood Man; the second set whose designs he'd co-developed with Dr. Light, Needle Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Snake Man, Spark Man, and Shadow Man (riding a Kerog); Dr. Cossack's set of stolen robot masters, Bright Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Dust Man, Dive Man, and Skull Man; Dark Man's followers, Gravity Man, Wave Man, Stone Man, Gyro Man, Star Man, Charge Man, Napalm Man, and Crystal Man; the robots from the World Tournament, Blizzard Man, Centaur Man, Flame Man, Knight Man, Plant Man, Tomahawk Man, Wind Man, and Yamato Man; the robot masters that had sprung Dr. Wily from jail after his capture and from when Bass had first appeared, Freeze Man, Junk Man, Burst Man, Cloud Man, Spring Man, Slash Man, Shade Man, and Turbo Man; the robot masters who had once been powered by Evil Energy, Tengu Man, Astro Man, Sword Man, Clown Man, Search Man, Frost Man, Grenade Man, and Aqua Man; Dr. Light's creations who had been co-opted after an enforced decommissioning, Concrete Man, Tornado Man, Splash Woman, Plug Man, Jewel Man, Hornet Man, Magma Man, and Galaxy Man; those that had been infected with roboenza and gone renegade, Blade Man, Pump Man, Commando Man, Chill Man, Sheep Man, Strike Man, Nitro Man, and Solar Man; the freshly revived Genesis Unit, Buster Rod G, Mega Water S, and Hyper Storm H; King's revolutionaries, Dynamo Man, Cold Man, Ground Man, Pirate Man, Burner Man, and Magic Man; the Dimensions, Dangan Man, Konro Man, Aircon Man, Komuso Man, the twin Clock Men, and Compass Man; CRORQ's minions, Sonic Man, Volt Man, Dyna Man, Bit Man, Shark Man, Wave Man/Water Man, Oil Man/Grease Man, Blade Man/Razor Man, and Torch Man; and the Constellation Droids, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces rounding out the army. None of the Stardroids thankfully.

And leading the charge instead of a roboticized master was the unmistakable form of Doc Robot.

Everyone braced themselves for the oncoming clash, and Sonic continued where he'd left off.

"This is what we live for."

* * *

1) Hermes is exaggerating. They'd eventually recover, but it still wouldn't be pleasant to experience.

2) Oh, so the Egg Denizens _weren't_ a throwaway reference?

3) Honestly, Vector seems like a typical bumbling detective, and then he goes and pulls of stuff like this.

4) Looper? Possible end of a universe looming? Sonic's still Sonic.

5) Omega _has_ to be an incarnation of the Moar Dakka trope.

6) You have to admit, it's not like him to pass something like that up.

7) Whoops.

8) The CRORQ Numbers occasionally get hit by the One Steve Limit in-universe. Just because.

9) Big Man was a gag character in Mega Man issue 27's Short Circuits section. How hard could he be?

10) And it's a long fly ball to left field... HOME RUN!

11) I suspect he wasn't the only one either.

12) Aw, nuts. A puzzle boss... And I don't think they picked up anything that fits that criteria in their inventory... Crap, an _unsolvable_ puzzle boss.

13) Oh. That's how hard.

14) Shadow's subspace pocket is host to one of the fastest growing gun collections in the multiverse.

15) Maybe not so unsolvable after all...

16) Oh, that's what happened to her. I was wondering about that.

17) Interior decorating for the blooded warrior.

18) Guess who Cream replaced one Loop.

19) Wait... Charmy Bee was James Bond once?

20) Ladies and gentlemen, Big the Cat. Debuting in _Sonic Adventure_, he's a simple guy who enjoys fishing and hanging out with friends. His life outlook is so simple in fact that no one can tell if he's looping because his behavior wouldn't be any different. Big's also a freaking tank of a warrior, and he's never happy when people try to hurt his friends.

In case anyone's wondering, his pal Froggy was left back home for this adventure when Big was captured.

21) Bass definitely has the Wily family ego…

22) I _had_ to do this. Blues already has the scarf for it after all.

* * *

And, for the curious, here's the Egg Denizen List:

Mother - Echidna

Father - Typheus/Typhon

Kraken - Cetus

Dawn - Hemera

Dusk - Nyx

Flower - Persephone

Wild - Pan

Box - Pandora

Crossroad - Hecate

Gorgon - Medusa

Cyclone - Aeolus

Joker - Eris

Barbarian - Heracles

Cup - Hebe

Meme - Mnemosyne

Vengeance - Nemesis

Storm - Zeus

Consort - Hera

Tide - Poseidon

Harvest - Demeter

Knight - Ares

Princess - Aphrodite

Prophet - Apollo

Hunter - Artemis

Forge - Hephaestus

General - Athena

Racer - Hermes

Vine - Dionysus

Hearth - Hestia

Reaper - Hades


	9. Loop 1 Part 5: Final Showdown!

Mega Loop 1.0 Part 5: Final Showdown on the Wily Egg!

* * *

Dr. Light sighed to himself in his new, more spacious, cell. Not that this change was for his comfort, of course. No, it was because Ivo and Albert each wanted to sic one of their minor robot minions on him for sport. Luckily for himself, the motobug and metool had bumped each other and started fighting amongst themselves, leaving him alone to try and talk reason to his captors.

He wasn't sure how, but he knew some of what the forces they were playing with were supposed to do, as well as a fair amount of Ivo's history. For some reason, it felt like the information had come from Rouge, but the woman hadn't had the time to speak to him about such matters.

Regardless, his pleas for reason had fallen on deaf ears. Albert had glared at him in defiance when he dropped the name of Ra Moon and the rest of the forces he'd tried to control and failed. After a similar treatment, Ivo had given him a calculating look that gave Thomas chills he only managed to hide due to years of martial arts meditation practice.

Dr. Thomas Light turned to look at the decimated remains of his two attackers, and pondered. His captors were beyond reason, not that he'd held much hope for better after so many years of failed attempts, but he'd had to try. Now it was time to see if he could perhaps take a slightly more active role in the current conflict.

With that in mind, Dr. Light bent over the remains of the two robots and went to work.

* * *

The war against the robot master army was underway. Duels were breaking out between members of each faction left and right, powers and weapons were flying fast and thick, groups of robot masters were pressing in on the heroes' outnumbered allies, the animal support units were harassing various robot masters, and in general the chaos was total.

Rock had found himself facing off against the multi-weapon robot master known as Doc Robot, rebuilt and refitted to wield the full array of roboticized master weapons. Acoustic Blaster met Mighty Blow met Piko Hammer met Rabbot Laser met Black Wave met Omega Gatling and on and on in a seemingly endless dance of weapons and violence.

"Give it up Doc Robot!" Rock yelled defiantly as he countered Rapid Stinger shots with the Trick Sword. "You can't stop me from defeating you and getting to the doctors!"

"Gya-ha-ha-ha!" Doc Robot laughed at him, switching to the Ray Glide, causing Rock to counter with the Tail Wind. "I know you'll get past us! It's what you do!"

"Then why fight me like this?" Rock demanded as he used the Chroma Camo to dodge a shot from the Chaos Cannon and then fired back with the Shockwave Boomer.

"Because!" Doc Robot cackled, countering with the Sharp Knuckle and switching to the Electric Blades as Rock switched to the Omochao weapon. "I don't have to stop you from getting to them! I just have to force you to drain your weapon energy before you get there!" (1)

Rock winced and changed to the Stealth Mine as Doc Robot opened fire with the Psycho Burst. _'And it's working too,'_ he realized. Doc Robot was too unpredictable to continue on without disabling, killing him would allow the doctors to simply time clone him and send him right back out, and fighting him like this was causing Rock to burn through his weapon energy much faster than he'd like.

Hydrokinesis met Fire Tornado as Rock tried to figure out how to end this faster.

* * *

E-123 Omega and Napalm Man stood fifty paces apart and did their level best to shell each other.

"None can stand against a walking arsenal like me!" Napalm Man declared, firing a barrage of explosives,

"Please. Back of the line, pea-shooter," Omega shot back both verbally and with his numerous automatic weapons.

* * *

Blues was busy dueling both Yamato Man and Knight Man at once, fending off attacks with his shield on one side and his buster on the other while Beat covered him from the air.

* * *

Shadow focused as he and Top Man raced around the battlefield neck and neck. _'I am _not _letting Sonic interrupt our duel this time!'_

* * *

Shade raced around the side of the crater towards the giant statue of Eggman (a matching one of Wily opposite) where she planned to run up the arm to the platform in the center that held the teleporter into the Wily Egg. She needed to decode the password so that a small strike team consisting of Sonic, Rock, and Roll could infiltrate the battlestation and confront the doctors while the rest of them kept the robot master army busy.

* * *

"Gah!" Sally cried as she was hit with a blast of sound from the trident of an aquatic-themed robot that had snuck up on her.

"Hey, poser!" Sonic yelled as he Spin Dashed straight through the robot master known as Sonic Man. "Hands off my girl!"

"What do you mean _your_ girl?!" Sally yelled back, fending off a sudden attack by the electrified stretching arms of Clown Man with her energy blades. "Check the ego, mister!"

"Hey, the ego's always been my little problem," Sonic grinned at her as he pounced on a robot with a light bulb head, Bright Man if he recalled correctly. "Besides, you know you love it!"

_'Some might say that's _my _little problem,'_ Sally retorted silently as she fought on. (2)

* * *

Antoine glared at his opponent as they crossed blades. Sword Man was proving to be quite skilled.

"You are quite the worthy opponent," the robot master complimented him.

"You are ze digne adversaire yourself, yes?" he allowed as the two continued to duel.

* * *

Blaze sweated from where she was pinned down by the combined flames of Heat Man, Flame Man, Solar Man, Pharaoh Man, Magma Man, Torch Man, Konro Man, Aries, and Burner Man.

"I am the guardian of the Sol Emeralds..." she stated defiantly. It was more true now than it ever was in the baseline with a set stored safely in her subspace pocket. She could feel their power, but initiating a super transformation now would be wasteful. Her own would be plenty. "..._I_ command their firey power..."

A pillar of flame erupted from her and engulfed the surrounding robots.

"I command _all fire!_"

* * *

Marine was in a similar situation as her friend. Surrounded on all sides by aquatic robot masters; Aqua Man, Pump Man, Wave Man, Mega Water S, Pisces, Virgo, Splash Woman, Pirate Man, and Shark Man; attempting to drown her or otherwise use the deluge of water the others were putting out against her.

Concentrating as hard as she could, she forced the water to burst outward and sweep her adversaries away.

"Ha!" she pointed dramatically. "That's what ye get when ye challenge the great captain Marine!"

* * *

"_Ha!_" Silver taunted as he immobilized Magic Man, Dyna Man, and the twin Clock Men with his psychokinesis. "The doctors are fools to send you against me! No robot is immune to my power!"

A sudden sensation of temporal manipulation swept over him and Silver found himself frozen in place. He cursed mentally for forgetting about this guy.

"Nor are _you_ immune to _ours_," Flash Man sneered.

As the robot proceeded to then obsess over Silver's hair, for whatever reason, the temporally displaced hedgehog did his best to access the Time Stones he'd become guardian of over the course of the Loops and use their power to break the temporal freezing holding him in place. Actual time travel outside what was 'supposed' to happen in a Loop iteration tended to cause him to 'exit' that Loop and Awaken in a later one. Plus, Hermes had 'politely' informed him that the full extent of the Time Stones' temporal abilities were sealed off for the duration of the Loops to prevent paradoxes. But they still should be able to counter the robot's time manipulation... (3)

If only he could get them to work... Damn but his time powers were rusty from disuse.

* * *

Rotor twitched as Oil Man (or was it Grease Man?) doused him with a stream of foul-smelling crude. He might be a mechanic, but dealing with Eggman's environmentally unfriendly operations had left him with a special burning anger for those who polluted.

He was going to leave this bot in so many pieces that the doctors wouldn't be able to reassemble him with two factories and the relevant blueprints.

* * *

Espio and Shadow Man bowed respectfully to each other before blurring into motion.

* * *

Snake Man fired his Search Snake weapon wildly, but his adversary was just too close and too relentless to actually aim in the right direction.

"Yer a disgrace to reptiles everywhere!" Vector spat as he continued brawling with the serpentine robot master.

* * *

"Whoa-oa-oa-oa!" Charmy yelled as he flew through air, dodging the drones Hornet Man was firing at him. _'Why did my spy tux have to be incinerated? I could have used it right about now!' _(4)

* * *

When faced with Gravity Man, Big did the first thing that seemed like it might work.

He _sat_ on the spacetime robot.

* * *

Stone Man's fist met that of Knuckles, and the former shattered into a slew of bricks.

"This guy hits like Guts Man!" the robot master worriedly reformed his arm while his echidna opponent whipped around to shatter a block fired at him by Concrete Man.

* * *

"Ha!" Volt Man proclaimed to his opponent. "Nothing can get through my Force Field!"

"We'll just see about that!" Mighty challenged and punched the energy barrier as hard as he could.

Volt Man went flying, Force Field and all, into several robot masters a fair distance away. (5)

* * *

Rouge grimaced as she evaded the sound wave attack of her pursuer.

"Come now, m'lady," the vampire-like Shade Man grinned after her, "give up this pointless resistance and rejoin the classier company of our side!"

_'That's it,' _she declared mentally, _'I'm putting one of my heels through his CPU.'_

* * *

As soon as the battle has begun, Tails had whipped the Tornado out from his subspace pocket and taken to the skies. He was currently engaged in an aerial dogfight against Tornado Man, Wind Man, Gyro Man, Tengu Man, and Cloud Man.

"Come on!" he shouted at the robots as he evaded their weapons and returned fire with the Tornado's main gun. "That all you got?!"

* * *

Amy's Piko Hammer struck the chin of Taurus, the minotaur-form Constellation Droid, and laid him out flat. The pink hedgehog then charged off to engage her next opponent.

* * *

Ray wondered what he was doing here as he struggled against the immense winds produced by his opponent, Air Man. Both Sonic and the Chaotix kept telling him that he was as capable as anyone, but he really didn't feel it. They told him he was 'brave' and 'awesome', but he shook with fear when facing nearly every opponent, stuttered over every other word that came out of his mouth, and every victory he gained seemed like a convergence of luck and idiocy from his perspective.

But... his friends needed him. He'd give it everything he had.

* * *

Cream had shifted to what the others called her 'were-rabbit' form for the fight. She didn't like hurting others, but these robot masters wanted to help the mean doctors hurt everyone in two universes, so they had to fight them.

She'd actually been doing rather well until her current opponent entered the fray.

"Heehee! You got big sharp pointy teeth, eh?" Grenade Man giggled as he fired Flash Bomb after Flash Bomb at the frantically dodging young rabbit and her chao. **"Well just call me Antioch!"**

* * *

Bunnie was carving a swath of destruction across the battlefield with her cybernetic enhancements when the Dimension known as Compass Man knocked her off balance.

"Oh, that's how ya want it, eh?" she narrowed her eyes. "Well, bring it, varmint!"

* * *

"I don't want to hurt you all again, but I will!" Roll shouted as she cut her way past several electrical robot masters with the Trick Sword, Tango following along in his spiked ball mode.

"I've got a bunch of powerful new weapons," she continued, switching to the Fire Tornado when she spotted a group of ice-themed robot masters, "and even more allies on my side! There's only one way this can end!"

* * *

Sonic grinned as he ran. He'd caused a multi-robot-master pile-up with the speedster crowd, and a couple of others who'd hitched a ride with the first, before going the poser who shared his name.

But it seemed Quick Man had recovered from the pile-up and come looking for round two, and so Sonic took it as an invitation to show off a bit by running back and forth across the speed-focused robot master's pursuit path. And just to taunt him, he took potshots at a bunch of other robot masters along the way.

Laugh at Skull Man being chased by Rush, cheap shot at Bubble Man's back, suck under Needle Man's spikes, run over some red dude who dropped a couple of rings he couldn't use...

_'Ah, right;'_ he thought as he ditched the useless rings, hopped over a water attack, slid under Tomahawk Man's axe, smashed both of Search Man's heads together, Spin Dashed Junk Man to pieces, and made a face at Wave Man (or was it Water Man?) for shooting at him and missing; _'Ring Man.'_

Shaking off the stray thought, he wiped some sweat from his forehead while jumping over Ground Man, pulled a homing attack on Jewel Man, goggled at Strike Man's terrible aim as he hit Buster Rod G instead, grinded his way down the monkey-robot's staff into a flying kick at Quick Man.

"YOW!" the boomerang-slinging robot master yelped as he was knocked off balance.

"You're _quick_ Quick Man, but you're not _fast_!" Sonic chortled to himself as he whipped out the old taunt from when he'd last done this verbatim, coasting over a missile from Dive Man that went straight for Drill Man as he did so. _'Ah, nostalgia. Hmm... Better not get too caught up in this. Shade should be finished cracking the password soon and we'll need to move fast when that happens.'_

"Really! Hate! That! Hedgehog!" Quick Man cursed as he tumbled along the ground again.

* * *

Bass leaned against a... large cylindrical object (heck if he cared what it was for) in the Wily Egg's command center, brooding while the doctors watched the massive brawl going on below. His father was cheering like a maniac, which was really rather embarrassing, and Eggman...

Eggman had been watching the whole thing calmly when all Bass's experience with the man said he should be acting just as loony as Bass's old man was. Something was up.

"Not enjoying the show?" he prodded his dad's 'friend'. Yeah, like that was gonna last.

"Just teasing apart a mystery..." Eggman replied, sounding a little distracted.

Bass was about to follow up on that when the man's servant, Orbot if he remembered right, came in to give a report. Bass idly noted something about an unauthorized transmission when Orbot's fellow lackey, Cubot, was dragged into the room by Treble, the accent-prone robot trying desperately to pull Treble back with a leash.

_'Why that...'_ Bass saw red. _'No one does that to my dog!'_

Bass was too preoccupied with trying to stomp the small yellow bot's cube form to note Eggman leaving the room with Metal Sonic.

* * *

Rock got an interesting idea and switched to Big Man's Fishing Rod weapon, turning indigo and purple with white trim, to try it out.

"Huh?" Doc's eyebrow went up in confusion. "I don't recognize that weapon..."

"Good," Rock proclaimed as he took full advantage of the Doc Robot's convenient distracted state. The industrial-strength fishing line wrapped around the multi-weapon master and bound his arms to his side, and then Rock yanked with all his might to drag his opponent to him. (6)

"Gya-ha-ha-ha! You should have said you wanted to make this up close and personal!" Doc Robot exclaimed gleefully as his body flew towards Rock and collided with the smaller robot who had switched back to his base weapon.

"I just needed to make sure you couldn't dodge," Rock replied flatly, bracing himself from falling over, as his Mega Buster finished charging and he fired straight into Doc Robot's waist from point blank range.

Doc Robot's lower half was separated from his top half rather spectacularly and the bound half-a-robot fell to the ground, cackling. "Gya-ha-ha! Not bad, Rock old boy! Ruthless and efficient! Just how it should be! Come on and finish me off! You've earned it!"

"No," Rock's statement shut the insane robot up. "As long as you're still functioning, the doctors can't time clone you. So I'm just going to put you out of the way for now and see what we can do after all this is finished."

Rock tuned out Doc's outraged ranting as he looked around for a good spot to stash him. By coincidence, he was near the spot where the entire group had reconvened. He could tell from the pulsing orb Shadow had casually tossed behind him when the robot master army had descended. Why he'd done that instead of put it in the subspace pocket Sonic had told him nearly all loopers had (and had told him the basics of performing). He could have just been trying to look cool. It certainly wouldn't be the first case of showboating overriding common sense in that group.

"Here, you can keep the glowing orb company," Rock propped Doc up on a rock near the object and proceeded to return to the battle.

"Damn you!" Doc yelled after him. "You get back here and kill me proper before I come and bite your legs off!"

* * *

Sonic was standing atop a downed Crash Man when Shadow called him over.

"Sonic! Shade's contacted Proto Man," the currently gun-toting black hedgehog informed him, and Sonic immediately raced over to where the red robot was convening with Rock and Roll while Beat, Omega, Knuckles, Rotor, and Vector – the latter spraying the fire breath technique he'd picked up somewhere Sonic couldn't recall at the moment – covered them.

"Blues?" Roll questioned as the two hedgehogs skidded to a stop, Shadow joining the group covering them.

"Shade's cracked the code," Blues informed them, all business. "We need to get you three up there _now_ to strike at the doctors while we have the opportunity."

"All right," Rock agreed, not even bothering with the argument for staying to help against the robot master army he'd tried in the baseline. Blues was right, the doctors came first. Plus, everyone down here was perfectly capable of handling the situation.

"Tango!" Roll called her support unit over while Rock called for Rush as well. "I need your jet mode!"

"_Yo_ Ray! I need a pick-up!" Sonic called out to his old friend to fly him to the teleporter platform over the middle of the crater. He vaguely recalled asking Tails in the baseline, but the fox was currently in a dogfight with multiple robot masters in the Tornado. In short order the three of them were rocketing over the crater towards the teleporter.

"Y-y-you sure this is a g-good idea, S-Sonic?" Ray stuttered as he carried the hedgehog. "I-I mean, th-there's a _l-lot_ of r-r-robot m-masters still there..."

"Which is that much less standing in the way of the me and the wonder twins once we get inside that big battle station," Sonic reminded the nervous squirrel, before grinning. "Besides, I know you can handle 'em."

* * *

The success chance had been on a steady decline ever since the combined heroes of both Loops had engaged the robot master army. As Eggman began his trek down towards the prison cells, the rate at which it dropped accelerated.

And then Eggman made an unscheduled stop that caught Hermes' attention. "Is that what I think it is?"

Hephaestus diverted some of his attention to check, and swore. "Aw... nuts. I was hoping the changes had prevented _those_ from occurring..."

"No such luck," Hermes winced. "And they _are_ changed. Otherwise we'd have seen this coming..."

* * *

"Drat! Let's see... Blues? No! Duo? Anyone?"

"Well-well-well," Eggman interrupted Dr. Light's attempt to communicate with the forces outside the Wily Egg. The captured scientist hid the device he'd cobbled together with a speed almost worthy of the hedgehog, but in an effort that was ultimately pointless. "Aren't we resourceful?"

The wall to the cell slid up as Eggman and Metal Sonic stared sinisterly at the prisoner while the eternal adversary of Sonic continued. "You know, it's rather strange. You knew things about what we were doing here that were simply impossible to divine yourself. I might have believed that Rouge had relayed this to you had we not captured and roboticized her before she even had the chance. It's quite the mystery you see. But it's clear that you're a very resourceful man, Thomas. The communicator you built from scavenged robot parts proves it. But knowing what you do? Perhaps a little _too_ resourceful. Yes..."

Dr. Eggman turned and ordered Metal Sonic to bring the doctor along, as well as gesturing to a third figure to follow as well.

"What in the world...?" Dr. Light exclaimed upon seeing the additional member of the group.

"Just a little side effect of the unique Zone we're in," Eggman waved Light's surprise off. "Not as important as the fact that Albert was right about you being trouble. I'll admit, I've clearly underestimated you. A mistake I won't make twice, not when I'm _this close_ to winning."

"Wait a moment!" Dr. Light struggled futilely against Metal Sonic's hold as Eggman went up to a button on the wall with clear warning labels and pressed it, the floor of the immense chamber opening up to reveal the air beneath the battlestation as he did. The wind rushed past as the pressure inside and outside equalized. "You don't need to–"

"Probably not," Eggman interrupted the man, "but I _want_ to. Goodbye Dr. Light."

And with that, Metal Sonic threw the good doctor through the opening towards the crater below.

"Go after him," Eggman ordered the other figure as he waved cheerfully at the falling doctor.

"Of course, sir," the figure said with Dr. Light's voice and jumped out as ordered.

* * *

Hermes swore as he and Hephaestus typed furiously at their terminals. The moment Dr. Light had been tossed out of the Wily Egg, the success chance had begun _plummeting_. At this rate it would hit zero about the same time Dr. Light hit the ground.

* * *

_SAVE DR. LIGHT!_

That was the thought that flashed through everyone's minds at the same time that the simultaneous cry of "DAD!" from both Rock and Roll was heard all across the battlefield.

* * *

Sonic swore to himself as he landed on the teleporter platform. How the hell had he forgotten about _this?!_ Rush and Tango had apparently hit their afterburners, but it wasn't going to be enough of a boost.

"Mega Man to _anyone!_" he could hear the blue bomber plead over his radio. "Dr. Light is in free-fall on the north side! Roll and I are en route, _but were not gonna make it!_"

"Somebody help!" he heard Roll pleaded over her own radio. "_Please!_"

"C-can you–" Ray started to ask Sonic before being cut off by the also-panicking hedgehog.

"The dude's falling right into the crater!" He yelled as he raced back and forth across the platform, nearly running Shade over as he did. "I can't – somebody get up there!"

* * *

Blaze was halfway to a super mode transformation, the only thing she knew fast enough to make it, when she heard Shadow make his own attempt.

"CHAO–ung!" the dark hedgehog fell, dazed, from a lucky blow to the head.

Looked like it was up to her after all. She finished calling on the full power of the Sol Emeralds and sped off as Burning Blaze, reaching mach speeds in an instant.

She reached the father of the one who had restored her in moments and slowed down enough to catch him without doing the man injury. She pulled up in her flight... and spotted a _second_ Dr. Light falling above the first.

It was obvious to anyone that one was a fake, but she simply didn't have time to work out _which_ at the moment. She grabbed the second Dr. Light and accelerated back across the crater. It was towards the battlefield, yes, but it was also the only place with people who could defend the good doc–

_GET DR. LIGHT AWAY FROM THE FAKE NOW!_

The sense of panic that surged through her caused her to look back at her passengers just in time to see the face of one detach and begin to flip around. Without hesitation, Burning Blaze flung the other Dr. Light towards her allies as hard as she could without hurting him while also halting the forward movement of herself and the fake.

"Paradox Light is happy to be exploding on you today," came the cheery voice of her remaining passenger. (7)

Whether it was feline curiosity or sapient reflex didn't matter. It still meant that Burning Blaze looked back at the fake she held to see its face had been replaced with a digital readout.

A digital readout with a countdo–

* * *

***KA-BOOM***

* * *

***(Commercial break by LordCirce)***

A group of students in coal-grey uniforms sit in a classroom. All of them look bored, staring blankly off into space. A solemn, slightly grating violin plays in the background.

At the front of the room, a blonde woman dressed in a grey schoolteacher uniform sits at her desk. Slowly, she looks up.

"Do your days feel gloomy and grey? Do they lack a certain bounce and jiggle? Do they seemed to be filled with endless studying, with no breaks in sight?"

"Well not anymore!" She stands and rips off the uniform, revealing a sparkling pink bikini, dotted with sequins. Color seems to fly through the classroom, causing the students to sit upright. The doors to the classroom burst open, and several bouncy girls bearing banners proclaiming "Eiken Club!" danced into the classroom.

The blonde woman turned to face the camera. "Hi, I'm Aphrodite, and I am here to brighten your day. Too often, school days are boring and grey. Now, they will be bright, pink, and bouncy! With the Eiken Club, you will get to explore new places," the camera pans to several boys falling into the cleavage of some of the Eiken girls, "meet beautiful people," a circle of boys stand staring at some of the girls, "and maybe, even meet the woman of your dreams." Aphrodite turns and winks, causing several of the boys to faint with nosebleeds. She giggles.

Then, a hole rips in the air over the desk, and Haruhi Suzumiya leaps through, landing in a pose, before giving a thumbs up. "I'm Haruhi, and I approve this message!"

***(End commercial break)***

Hephaestus twitched at his terminal. Whoever taught his wife how to send spam mail that opened itself was going to die.

Painfully.

* * *

Dr. Light felt more than heard the explosion behind him as he hurtled unaided through the air towards the battlefield below. Or the crater. He wasn't sure if he'd impact the ground at the peak or the cliffside below it. And then he was cut out of his musings by a pair of hands grasping his arms.

"Gotcha!" his savior, a yellow-furred squirrel – flying at that – proclaimed as he desperately wrestled with Dr. Light's momentum. He managed though, and the two were rewarded with a rough, but thankfully injury-free landing.

"–CONTROL!" finished Shadow as he warped in next to them, carrying an unconscious, and decidedly non-Burning, Blaze in his arms.

"Stay down, doctor," Shadow ordered. "Our comrades will provide cover for both you and Blaze."

"I will protect the flabby, hairy man and the burning lady of beautiful destruction!" (8) Omega proclaimed in his typical monotone from one side of the group as Blues took up guard on the other.

"Proto Man to Mega Man and Mega Woman – We have Dr. Light," Blues then turned to the father he'd estranged himself from. "...Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine," Dr. Light told him a little breathlessly. He might have a few nightmares over this later, but for now he could hold it together.

"He's unharmed, and it looks like Blaze will recover as well," Blues reported over the radio to his brother before detaching his Sit-Rep shades from the helmet – that particular upgrade had been a gift from Dr. Cossack immediately after he'd been acquitted for his actions when Wily blackmailed him with his daughter's safety – and handing the shades-less helmet to Dr. Light. "Here," he told the surprised scientist, who'd been about to request exactly this as a blast of water from Pump Man splashed against the shield before Shadow could engage the robot master. "Make it quick. We're in the middle of a war zone."

Mighty arrived to reinforce the defensive formation in time to fend off Knight Man as Dr. Light made the call.

* * *

Doc Robot cackled as the orb finished grafting itself to the shattered base of his torso. "Who'd have guessed that they'd have kept you around? Gya-ha-ha-ha!"

The programming from the orb attempted to infiltrate his neural net and take over, but he'd been designed by Dr. Wily to be intamperable. Or rather, unreformable. It amounted to almost the same thing in the end.

"Gya-ha-ha! Not bad... Reaper, is it? Yes... we're the same now aren't we?" the mad robot spoke with himself. "Not quite mad Doc Robot, but not entirely the Egg Denizen known as Reaper either... We shall be known as Doc Reaper! All shall tremble in fear as we cut them down! Oh, Rock old boy, I'm gonna have to thank you for this! Assuming you live... Hehehe."

'Doc Reaper' produced a pair of scythe blades from his arms that shredded the fishing line binding him... and promptly fell over as he tried to move. "Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha! That's right! We still don't have any legs! We'll go and collect our old ones, and then we'll carve down all in our path!"

With that, the mad conglomeration of two machines crawled along the ground to where Rock had left the shattered remains of Doc Robot's lower body. (9)

* * *

"Mega Man, Mega Woman, do you copy?" came the welcome voice of Dr. Light over the radios of Rock and Roll as they approached the teleporter platform once again.

"Dr. Light!" Roll choked down a grateful sob, making to continue past the platform and towards her father. "Hold on, I'll be right there and–"

"No," the no-nonsense tone of their creator cut her off. "I'll be fine. Right now you both are needed on the Wily Egg, the doctors' flying fortress. You need to stop Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily. You need to save our world and Sonic's world, and all the worlds in our two universes! Go, my children. Be the heroes we need you to be."

"O-okay," Roll wiped her tears away.

"Stay safe!" Rock offered as he and his sister descended towards the doctors' teleporter platform. "We'll see you when this is done!"

"Hey you two," Sonic greeted them as they landed. "Ray lit out of here in the direction Blaze tossed your dad like someone strapped a rocket to him. I think he might have been moving before she even tossed him. Your dad okay? Any word on Blaze?"

"Yes," Shade cut in. "Dr. Light is uninjured and while Blaze was knocked out of her super mode by the blast, she is otherwise unharmed."

Sonic whistled. Super forms were practically invincible. Actually knocking someone out of one instead of running the transformation out? That took some serious force. Being in super mode was probably the only thing that had saved Blaze's life.

"Too close for comfort," Rock's eyes narrowed. "We need to _end_ this."

"I would like to come with you and sabotage the doctors' fortress from within," Shade offered.

"Not that good an idea," Sonic grimaced. "No offense, but Rouge is at least as good a saboteur as you are, and she came out a robot when she tried. No telling what they have off whatever obstacles are set up for me and the Lights."

Shade was silent for a moment. "Point taken. Please step onto the teleporter."

"Rush, Tango," Roll told their support units. "Stay here and take Shade back with you. Help her out as much as you can."

Shade huffed indignantly. "I am perfectly capable of–"

"We know," Rock cut her off, "but there's a good chance we may need them to fly up reinforcements to save us at the last minute and they can't do that if they're with us."

"Very well," Shade sighed as she activated the teleporter and sent the trio on into the Wily Egg.

* * *

The rescue of Dr. Light had stopped the rampant freefall the success chance had gone into, but it was still dropping. Much slower than it had been, but the downward trend continued nonetheless. As the trio of heroes entered the Wily Egg, the success chance reached half what it had been when the battle with the robot masters had begun.

Hephaestus scrambled to analyze data and figure out just what it was that his potential loopers were headed towards.

* * *

Rouge descended towards the scientist she'd once again gotten captured while trying to help. Her own fault, really, for not paying more attention to things. "Long time no see, Doc!" she greeted the man who was still wearing his eldest son's helmet while said son shielded the scientist from an attacking Gemini Man.

"Good to see you're safe, agent Rouge." Dr. Light returned her greeting as he finished scavenging robot master parts from downed robot masters (who had been time cloned and sent right back out). He began to tinker with them as she came lower. "How goes the battle?"

"Not so hot. We're severely outnumbered. Any _one_ of these robot masters would be a challenge," she replied, seeing an opening to dive towards one of the Gemini Men she saw. It was true enough. Even though most of them were experienced loopers, Dr. Wily did really good work with his robot masters. Their biggest saving grace was still the fact that each member of the army was designed to fight solo rather than as a united force. They were getting in each other's way as often as not. "We can't – _ugh_, stupid decoys!" Had she mentioned lately that she hated holographic opponents?

"Don't give up," Dr. Light encouraged her from his tinkering while Blues shielded him from a laser fired by the real Gemini Man. Rouge took a moment to admire the red raider. Blues actually made the pompadour hairstyle work.

"The boys have made it into the Wily Egg, so this should be over soon. And I'd anticipate reinforcements any time now," the scientist continued as he stood up, revealing a cobbled-together Mega Buster over his left forearm, turned, and fired on Gemini Man who fell over stunned and immobile.

Rouge gaped at what she'd just witnessed the man do. Even knowing he'd performed that same feat in the baseline failed to make it any less impressive. (10)

* * *

"Give us a second to stabilize the portal," Dr. Lalinde informed Duo as she and Tempo worked on the task, Dr. Cossack working with Auto on a different project off to the side. "The lab's computers have only done this once before."

Duo said nothing as he watched the energy form into a swirling portal framed by a golden ring.

"There," Noele Lalinde nodded with satisfaction, "That should be stable enough to–"

"Thank you doctor," Duo interrupted. "I will handle things from here. Please do not follow me until I have forwarded the environmental data back through the portal. I can sense something not right about what is on the other side."

"Understood. Be careful," Lalinde agreed as the space robot flew through the portal. "And good luck."

* * *

"How's the battle going Albert?" Dr. Eggman cheerfully strode back into the command center, totally missing the frantic gestures of his lackeys Orbot and Cubot to remain silent and turn back. As a result, he was caught completely off guard when Albert grabbed him and slammed him against the wall in fury.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL THOMAS!" Dr. Wily roared, sending Ivo's lackeys into their geometric forms in fear. Even Bass's eyes were a touch wider than usual at the unexpected ferocity his father was showing. (11)

"Of course!" Eggman admitted in surprise and confusion. "He knew too much and was trying to contact our enemies! He had to be dealt with!"

"_NO!_" Wily roared again, throwing Eggman bodily to the ground in his adrenaline-fueled rage. "Not like that! Thomas is a nuisance, but I _won't_ see him _MURDERED!_"

Metal Sonic simply floated off to the side observing the confrontation and making no move to help his creator.

"What?" Eggman cried in bewilderment as he got to his feet and pointed accusingly at his partner. "You _hate_ him! I thought you'd be _happy!_"

"_IDIOT!_" Wily roared back, as opposite of happy as humanly possible. "I want him embarrassed, humbled, and defeated, not _dead!_"

"What about the whole 'eyes on the prize' line you gave me?" Eggman accused, preparing to defend himself.

"Thomas on his knees _is_ my prize!" Wily screamed back as he leapt bodily at his partner.

"_Hey!_ Old guys!" Bass decided to break this up before the doctors completely forgot why they were originally here in their efforts to maim each other. "Mega Man, his sister, and his animal pal are on board, or are you too busy slap-fighting to care?"

Reminded of what was happening by both Bass's words and the monitor's display showing exactly that, the doctors broke up and attempted to act nonchalant.

"_Hmph_," Dr. Wily straightened his labcoat. "Send the Mega Man Killers and tell those other three to get ready. That should at least slow them down long enough for us to finish preparations."

"Yes," Dr. Eggman begrudgingly agreed as he dusted himself off. "Metal Sonic, take Bass and guard checkpoint X. If they defeat Albert's pet project there, then it's up to you two to finish them."

Bass didn't miss the ugly looks the doctors shot each other before they exited the room. However, nearly everyone was so preoccupied with the drama between the doctors that they didn't see the notice on the console regarding the detection of a new 'denizen' forming. And everyone else also missed Metal Sonic pressing a few buttons to begin the conversion of this new denizen into a mechanical weapon to be teleported to the battle below before he moved to obey Eggman's orders.

* * *

The battle halted as the roar of something enormous emerged from the crater, and every eye turned towards it to see if it would prove friend or foe. The ground rumbled as a figure at least a giant head taller than the Egg Denizens: Mother and Father climbed its way up onto the plateau.

It was humanoid with a permanent scowl upon its face, each massive hand holding an equally immense curved sickle blade. It finished its climb and stood to its full height, towering over the warriors below it.

"Tremble, mortals, before Egg Denizen: Titan!" the giant robot bellowed.

* * *

Duo sat in a meditative pose midair as he scanned the twisted dimension he found himself in. Immediately upon entering, he had felt the dimension scan him and then attempt to take something from him. Something he did not possess, which apparently frustrated whatever force was behind it.

It mattered not. The force, while certainly not benevolent, was not self-aware. It would not impede his mission. A mission that remained firm in his mind regardless of whatever force had twisted time back upon itself.

He could feel everything about this dimension. How it was originally meant to be a proving grounds for mortal supplicants; full of hazards, dangers, and evils; but also with the potential to create something wondrous at the end. Provided that the soul who gained such a boon proved Good and Just of course, otherwise it had an equal potential to create something poisonous and foul. He also felt how it had become corrupted upon fusing with a chaotic force it was never meant to mesh with, and had then become poisoned by the Evil of the doctors until the entire thing was nothing more than a parasitic tumor upon reality. A tumor poised to corrupt and destroy, or worse, no less than two entire universes.

Whatever this dimension was originally supposed to be, it had become nothing more than an abomination upon the fabric of reality.

He could sense dozens of robotic lifeforms in the distance, most of which seemed to be just beneath the notice of whatever force had tried to take from him when he arrived. And there was also a spirit of malevolence in the distance which had not existed prior to his arrival. It seemed the unknown force had taken something from him after all.

He sent a message back through the portal that no human should come through the portal until he signaled it was safe to do so. There was already Evil aplenty and Justice needed to be served.

* * *

Shadow grinned. _Finally_, something to use that special gun he'd begged off of Tails on. Whipping the thing out of his subspace pocket caused nearly every eye in the vicinity to widen comically. It was: A. Really. Big. Freaking. Gun.

It was at least three times Shadow's size, with at least four lesser cannon barrels attached to the main one, a few machine gun attachments, a couple of missiles mounted on it, what looked like a swiss-army bayonet, and the words 'Big Bad Mamma Jamma!' painted on the side.

Save for two individuals, everyone else, organic and robot alike, backed away from Shadow.

"It is gorgeous," monotoned Omega, transfixed by the sight of the weapon.

"Aw, _yeah!_" cheered Grenade Man. "Shoot it! Shoot it!"

The Freedom Fighters recognized Rotor's work, and as one turned to the walrus.

"Hey, I only loaded it with enough ammo for one pull of the trigger," the battle mechanic defended himself as Shadow took aim at Titan and did exactly that.

It was hard to say exactly what kind of overall blast erupted from the weapon, but it tore a hole straight through Titan's torso shaped like a cat's pupil. The previously fearsome giant robot finished splitting in twain as it crashed to the ground.

* * *

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha!" 'Doc Reaper' whisper-cackled as he saw the immense body of Titan fall to the ground. Forget the legs he'd just finished reattaching, _that_ would be the perfect body to graft himself to and lay waste to the allies of Mega Man with. He'd just have to get across the battlefield in one piece without drawing attention to himself. Considering the chaos rampaging unchecked, no one would so much as spare him a second glance so long as he controlled himself enough to not attack them outright.

And for the kind of body he'd get as a reward, he could manage to control himself that long.

* * *

Roll tried to suppress her exasperation with her brother and his friend from another Loop. From the moment all three of them had gotten aboard the Wily Egg, those two had been such _boys_.

They had been arguing back and forth about whether or not their resident mad scientist was the driving force behind the Wily Egg's design. And not only could neither accept the other's valid points, they had these stupid grins on their faces the whole time.

All of a sudden, she was struck by the thought that if the subject they were debating had been social gossip and dating prospects, they'd have sounded _just_ like stereotypical teenage girls. Roll had to fight a sudden a fit of giggles at the mental image of her brother and Sonic in the latest teen girl fashions going 'no way!' and 'ohmygod!' at each other. (12)

"It's the Mega Man Killers!" her brother's shout broke Roll out of her musings, and she reflexively brought out the weapons-grade broom she carried with her and telescoped it to full length.

Poking fun at her brother and his friend could wait until after the worlds were saved.

* * *

"The genesis chamber," Hephaestus suddenly said. The place where the doctors had their Chaos Emerald powered Genesis Wave device that could rewrite the local reality of both universes the Skaia/Zone pocket dimension was attached to from the ground up. The Chaos Emeralds were prevented from rewriting their universe's base code in Yggdrasil's system, but even one would allow this device to 'shuffle' history and people around. All seven would let the doctors use the device to basically define their own personal variant of the current iteration, which would likely be game over for the 'Mega' branch. And that was before taking Skaia's presence into account.

"Huh?" Hermes absently inquired from where he was trying to follow his loopers' battle with the robot masters.

"Yggdrasil just finished running the numbers and every single path worth mentioning puts our Anchors in the genesis chamber about the same time that the success chance will hit zero at its current rate of decline," Hephaestus continued. "The only explanation is that it's something in the genesis chamber itself that's a threat."

"Then we better get on finding it," Hermes admitted.

The Genesis Wave device was the most likely culprit for causing this attempt to fail, but... it was too obvious. It would have featured in all of the possible paths Yggdrasil had calculated since the beginning. So Hephaestus had a feeling that there was something else the doctors were going to try and use. Something he and Hermes hadn't noticed yet amidst all the data they had to sift through.

* * *

_'One good Punk deserves another?'_ Sonic thought as he and the crimson blade-wielding robot went at each other. _'Cute, guys. Real cute.'_

Sonic decided to take this aerial and Homing Attack the guy to death, only for the robot to curl himself into a whirling spiked sawblade ball and come after him. Sonic twitched as he and his opponent ricocheted around the room. The two opponents repeatedly crashed into each other, bouncing off with little mutual harm as they did.

"STOP!"

Seriously, it wasn't enough that Wily had a robot with his name?

"STEALING!"

Nor enough that the nutcase had made a half-dozen or so speedsters of his own that had felt like challenging Sonic?

"MY!"

Who cared if this had all happened in the baseline? Did he have to suffer through having _everything_ that defined him stolen by this guy _again_?

"MOVES!"

Honestly, he got enough of that from Eggman already!

* * *

'Doc Reaper', as he now called himself, did his best to cross the battlefield undetected. It was beginning to get tiresome though. There was only so long that avoiding stray shots remained entertaining.

Something suddenly impacted the back of his head and pushed off.

"Sorry Mr. Robot!" the rabbit-thing called back as it continued to flee with a small blue... something.

"That's _Doctor_ Robot!" he yelled after her despite himself. He was about to correct that too when another figure crashed into him and knocked him down.

Laughing where he lay, he swore that whoever that had been, enemy combatant or robot master, they were going to die.

* * *

Broom clashed against Barrier Spear in a rapid staccato as Roll and Enker dueled ferociously back and forth across the corridor.

"Your skills are no match for mine!" Enker boasted as he turned aside Roll's every strike, occasionally also lashing out with the Mirror Buster using the kinetic energy his spear absorbed.

"Bring it!" Roll shot back as she continued to deflect Enker's attacks in turn.

* * *

(Sneaky Doc Reaper part 2 thanks to Dalxein)

This was beginning to become tiresome again. The mad robot had taken to making a game of it, seeing how close the other combatants could get before he had to stop moving, or testing his luck and continuing to move while the battle raged around him. He'd even kept right on moving once through a mess of elemental-based Robot Masters as they were cut down, and one had stepped on the back of his head without noticing he was active. He would giggle about it if only it hadn't scuffed his skullplate. (13)

But now even that was growing tiresome. His need for stealth was paramount, and he'd run out of games that would only reasonably endanger his chances of making it through the battlefield unseen. It was like–

"Hey there, Doc Robo. You... you look terrible. You okay? Need some hel–" *PRREEEXCHRANG* Blade Man's question was cut off as his two halves parted from one another, a sickle blade retracting into Doc Reaper's arm. Stealth was paramount, after all.

...then again, a better set of legs than he was currently making do with might've been appreciated, and while not a speedster, Blade Man wasn't slow.

Oh, blast it all, he was starting to regret that.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha~" No, on second thought, no he didn't.

Absorbing Blade Man's Blades had _nothing_ to do with it, he insisted to himself.

* * *

"Ballade, stop!" Rock pleaded with his opponent even as he shot the robot's explosive Ballade Crackers out of the air. "Don't you remember? You once turned against Wily to save me! You can do it again!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Ballade sneered as he continued his relentless barrage. "Now stand and fight me like a man!"

_'Right,'_ Rock thought to himself as the relevant memories became clearer. _'It's not just a revised timeline. Wily's time cloned all of his robot masters from the point where they were most loyal to him. I'm just glad he stopped bothering with the original set dad made after we undid his reprogramming.'_

* * *

**Ivo is a liability. A loose cannon. His actions prove it. He must be disposed of.**

Dr. Wily's headache was pounding stronger than ever as he and Ivo put the finishing touches on their joint creation, the Egg-Wily Machine X. He could almost swear that his headache was forming words now, but that was ridiculous. Even for him.

**He will betray you. He **_**has**_ **betrayed you. He tried to take from you the victory you always deserved.**

Their partnership now was strained at best, and only the promise of ultimate power and the threat of their enemies closing in combined was keeping them working together.

**He is no better than the rest. He does not truly respect you like he should.**

Ivo had one more chance. One. If he proved unworthy of it, then...

**Eliminate him.**

Then Albert W. Wily would do what he had to.

* * *

"Follow the bouncing hedgehog!" was the only warning Roll got as Sonic came ricocheting around the corner with Punk hot on his trail.

"Rock!" she called to her brother as she sidestepped out of Punk's path with reflexes honed from years of fighting all manner of robots. As Punk's blind pursuit of Sonic caused him to bisect Enker, she swung her broom-staff and knocked the Killer off-course. "Heads up!"

Rock didn't even turn as he dashed to the side and let Punk run straight into one of Ballade's explosives.

"Mega Man!" Sonic called out as Punk unwound from his ball form. "Switch!"

"Right!" Roll's brother replied as he slid under Sonic's Homing Attack on Ballade to fire on Punk who was readying a Screw Crusher.

As Punk fell to her brother's Mega Buster, Sonic's assault on Ballade caused his fired explosive to be sent off course. Straight at Roll. (14)

Roll casually deflected the bomb with her broom-staff and fired her own Mega Buster at Ballade, finishing the Killer off.

"Rock, buddy," Sonic looked impressed. "Your sister is officially awesome."

"You say that like it's news," Rock shot his sister a teasing grin.

"_Boys_," the lone female rolled her eyes as the two males laughed.

* * *

The self-proclaimed Doc Reaper finally made it through the raging battlefield and stood before the ruin of the giant Egg Denizen: Titan. The mad robot chuckled sinisterly as the orb comprising his gut pulsed and wires snaked from the wreck to attach themselves to him.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

* * *

The trio of infiltrators into the Wily Egg stopped as the room they had dashed into was suddenly sealed off at both ends. A trio of figures that neither Sonic nor Rock recalled having faced in the Wily Egg in the baseline dropped from the ceiling.

"Sonic?" Rock asked. "Remember saying that 'all we needed now was a 'Silver Sonic'?"

"Yeah," Sonic apologized. "I really should know better than to tempt fate by now. Though I'm curious as to who the other two are. Kinda looks like we've got a twisted evil doppelganger theme here."

Before the trio stood their warped doubles. The massive gleaming steel Silver Sonic, spine-like blades emerging menacingly from its back, stood over twice as tall as his two companions. Two robots who were very familiar to Rock and Roll.

"Sonic, meet Quint, my future-tech clone. And Roll's future-tech clone..." Rock introduced the opponents Sonic hadn't met.

"...Waltz," Roll finished for him.

* * *

Dr. Eggman scowled from where he was personally working on the Egg-Wily Machine X at the insistence of Albert. He'd have had a badnik do the detailing, but for whatever reason Albert was _adamant_ about a 'craftsman's touch' before he'd deign to pilot the thing into battle.

He'd had such high hopes for the man too. The first person he'd met who could not only match his own genius, but also seemed to understand the kinds of trials men like them were subjected to. Someone who had also gone through the constant battle to keep the rabble in its place and gotten nothing but grief for it.

The first man Ivo had ever known that he could call a peer. An equal. Maybe even a friend.

And yet Albert just _had_ to cling to sentimental weakness!

Well, the Eggman knew how to deal with that.

* * *

"Welcome, Mega Man, Mega Woman, Sonic the Hedgehog," Quint greeted the trio calmly. "Welcome to your doom. There is no chance for victory, no way to escape. Our final duels will play out in this chamber."

"This guy fight half as well as he blabs?" Sonic yawned.

"Do you?" Quint's verbal jab nearly goaded Sonic to attacking in a rage, but a firm hand from Rock and a solemn shake of the blue bomber's head forestalled it. The message was clear, these were dangerous opponents not to be underestimated. Quint ignored the exchange and turned to Waltz. "You remember the plan, Waltz?"

"Of course, dear brother!" Waltz smiled and patted Quint on the back in a manner that would have seemed comforting if the divergence from the personality Rock and Roll were used to wasn't setting off alarms in their heads. "We duel them, kill them if we can, waylay them if not. Just like you said: No tricks. No games. And..."

At this, Waltz leaned over and spoke the last part right into the audio receptors in Quint's helmet.

"...No more distractions," Waltz purred.

The heroes barely noticed the start of Quint's expression changing to surprise before his forehead exploded outwards. The limp body of Rock's future double fell to the ground, revealing the smoking finger cannons of Waltz that had been at the base of his neck. (15)

"What in...?" Sonic blurted in shock, before Waltz raised her other arm towards the final companion and began pumping rapid-fire plasma shots into Silver Sonic's cranium. And all the while, she was looking at the trio of heroes with an insane grin on her face.

"Don't look so shocked!" Waltz giggled insanely as the robot hedgehog fell to the ground, its head reduced to so much scrap. "It was only fair that I got to kill him when he killed me first! And the big guy was just an eyesore, really."

"What do you want, Waltz?" Rock asked, not trusting the current turn of events in the least. Waltz was not an altruist. By _any_ stretch of the imagination.

"Hmph. Party pooper," the mentally unbalanced robot scoffed. "I just want to play."

_That_ set both Rock and Roll on edge. They knew how Waltz defined 'play'. For that matter, her tone wasn't exactly putting Sonic at ease either.

"Don't be like that!" Waltz grinned at them with an innocence no one bought. "If one of you agrees to stay and play with me, the other two can go on ahead. No strings attached!"

"And what if we say no?" Sonic glared.

Waltz's grin grew bigger. "Then I get to kill all three of you instead of just one. Makes no difference to me. I just felt like giving it the _personal_ touch today you see, but if you don't wanna play that way, I'm good for the usual."

The stand off continued for several seconds before one of them stepped forward.

"Okay, Waltz," Roll told her counterpart. "You've got yourself a duel."

"Roll!" Rock tried to talk her out of it. "No! You know what she's like, an–"

"Yes, I do," Roll cut her brother off and modulated her voice so only Rock and Sonic would be able to hear. "Rock, you haven't seen her at her worst. I have. Her loose-cannon style thrives on multiple opponents. She fires too randomly to coordinate efforts, and if it's all three of us then we _will_ be hurt. Badly. But one-on-one? I can take her. Please, brother. I... I need to do this. For myself."

Rock gave her a hug. "Don't die, sis."

"Aww..." Waltz interrupted. "How sweet! But this offer expires soon! Tick-tock!"

"Hold your horses," Roll glared. "I'll duel you. As soon as you let my brother and his friend go on ahead."

"Deal!" Waltz snapped her fingers and a door at the far end of the room opened up. With only a single backwards glance that silently asked if she knew what she was doing, Rock and Sonic went through the door, which closed behind them.

"Now, little Roll," Waltz taunted her opponent, "it's just you and me. And soon it'll be just me and some fashionable new accessories made from your charred remains."

Roll simply snapped out her broom-staff and made a 'bring it' gesture.

* * *

"GYA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" the booming cackle echoed out over the battle between robot masters and the gathered allies of two worlds arrayed against the doctors. Once again, the fighting halted as participants prepared to evaluate this new development.

The body of Titan seemed to rise, not only reforming itself, but sending wires towards every downed robot master – several of which had been downed multiple times due to time cloning – and absorbing their wreckage into itself. As the thing finished standing, the cackling form of Doc Robot could clearly be seen fused in a position on the torso roughly correlating to the sternum, a pulsating orb in place of his own lower torso.

"Shadow," Rouge began dangerously. "Is that...?"

"How was I supposed to know it reanimated dead robots?" Shadow defended himself. "Besides, Sonic said not to put anything from here in our subspace pockets unless we wanted Hermes to give us a full metaphysical cavity search. And while I have no clue what that means, I have _zero_ intention of finding out."

Further debate was cut off as the giant reanimated robot bellowed its voice over the battlefield.

"Prepare yourselves for the ultimate battle!" the figure cackled. "For I am no longer merely Doc Robot. No longer solely the Egg Denizen known as Reaper. I'm not even Doc Reaper now! With the body of Titan and the scavenged weapons of every fallen robot master, I am ultimate! I am supreme!"

"I am WILY ROBO EGG TARTARUS! GYA-HA-HA-HA-eh?"

Immediately after that confused shift in tone, a blue-white streak of light blasted right through the spot on 'Wily Robo Egg Tartarus's' body that 'Doc Reaper' was fused to. A moment later, the once-again lifeless form toppled over backwards into the crater as the streak of light turned around and came to a halt before Dr. Light, resolving itself into a floating blue, red, and gray robot that had to be at least eight feet tall.

"Dr. Light," Duo greeted the armed scientist formally. "I am here to help."

* * *

In the empty command room of the Wily Egg, a lone notice on the computer went unseen:

TIME-CLONE RESTORATION OF FORTRESS GUARDIANS 'ENKER', 'PUNK', 'BALLADE', 'QUINT', AND 'SILVER SONIC' AWAITING AUTHORIZATION.

AUTOMATED TIME-CLONE RESTORATION OF ROBOT MASTER 'DOC ROBOT' FAILED DUE TO CONTAMINATION BY ZONE-NATIVE ENTITY.

* * *

"Okay, seriously," Sonic prodded Mega Man as the two ran down the corridor, "_why_ are we leaving your sister alone with the psycho back there if she's as bad as you say?"

"Because..." Rock sighed. "You have to understand, we don't just remember the Loop where the Crash happened. Each of us remembers a series of what might have been attempts to make us solo Anchors, all of which ended in reality crashing like an over-taxed computer program."

"Okay... That's creepy," Sonic allowed. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I got through mine reasonably fine, all things considered," Rock informed the hedgehog. "Roll and Blues... not so much. Blues refuses to talk about what happened to him, but Roll... The whole reason Roll is doing the hero thing with me is that she lived through a couple of lives where Dr. Wily _won_. As in, 'my head mounted on a pike' won."

"Ick," Sonic made a grossed-out face. "What's any of this have to do with Waltz?"

"Because her last one featured Waltz as her version of Quint," Rock continued, "and that life traumatized her more than any of the others for some reason. All because of whatever Waltz did during it. She told me some, but I _know_ I didn't get the whole story."

"I repeat," Sonic gave him a flat look, "_why_ did we leave her there?"

"Because Roll needs to work this out at some point," Rock admitted. "And if we'd told her no, she'd have booted us out of there herself."

"Okay," Sonic agreed, getting an incredulous look from Rock as to how fast his attitude had reversed itself. "Hey, I know a _number_ of ladies like that. They get an idea in their head to do something for their own good and you get between them and it at your ow–."

An immense tremble in the floor under their feet halted the conversation and nearly caused the two blue heroes to stumble over themselves.

* * *

Duo had been in the middle of listening to Dr. Light inform him that he and his allies could properly handle the situation now, and that his power was best spent aiding Mega Man, Mega Woman, and Sonic when he sensed it. An entity aboard the flying fortress above him.

The entity's presence had been masked until something had disturbed it, and then it blared in Duo's senses. It was strong. Powerful. Evil. Much more so than the reanimated abomination he had slain.

The doctor was right. He was needed up there. (16)

* * *

Rock and Sonic stared up at the terrifyingly immense one-eyed blue form before them as both of their memories, partially restored and rusty alike, recalled what it was.

The Chaos Devil roared back at them with a force that shook the walls.

* * *

Roll's broom-staff twirled and deflected Waltz's plasma barrage in an intricate dance worthy of a Jedi.

_'I don't care if you're the worst opponent I've ever faced,'_ the former household model thought in regards to her insane adversary. _'I don't care if you view murder as some form of hobby or recreation. I don't care if you might actually be able to beat me.'_

Roll's face hardened as she prepared to go on the offensive. _'I'm _done _letting fear control me.'_

"Yes!" Waltz cheered as Roll charged her through the rapid-fire finger cannon blasts. "Come closer so I can see your pretty little face better as you die in agony!"

* * *

"How do you beat these Devil things again?" Sonic yelled to Rock as he frantically dodged around watery tentacles. Damn, but he hated his rusty baseline memories. He should _know_ this already!

"Expose the eye!" Rock shouted back as he fired repeatedly on the magitech hybrid monstrosity. Unfortunately the liquid was reforming as fast as his Mega Buster could part it. Right, it hadn't gone any better last time. Why couldn't his memories of this portion of his original lifetime restore themselves just a little faster? "Which isn't working as well as it usually does! How about you and Chaos?! Something about going 'super'?!"

"Last time I used the Chaos Emeralds in my subspace pocket to go super near another full set, I broke my universe and wound up in Eiken!" (17) Sonic loudly informed him as the Chaos Devil formed a few extra tentacles to lash out with, making conversation very difficult.

Rock filed that away for later inquiry as he formed a plan. "I got an idea! Go for the eye on three!"

"Got it!" Sonic agreed, getting an odd feeling for how this was going to go and adjusted his aim accordingly.

"One!" Rock began counting and charging.

"Two!" Sonic's Spin Dash revving kicked up sparks on the metal floor.

"THREE!" As one, both heroes unleashed their attacks. The double strike of Rock's charged 'Sonic Shot' and Sonic's own Spin Dash blew a hole in the living water body of the Chaos Devil and struck the ocular control unit hard enough to make the beast roar in pain. Rock's blast burst in a flare of energy and Sonic's adjusted aim allowed him to ricochet back the way he came instead of trying to power through the living water behind the creepy robotic eye and risking being trapped in it.

"Move!" came Rock's sudden shout as the Chaos Devil retaliated with numerous limbs formed from its body. Sonic reacted without thought and dove to the side...

Just in time to be out of the way as a flaming blue fist larger than his Spin Dash form burst through the floor in an uppercut that splashed the liquid body of the Chaos Devil all over the room.

* * *

_'Scrap,'_ Roll swore silently as Waltz caught a swing of the broom-staff in her open hand, leaving nothing between Roll and Waltz's finger cannons.

* * *

Duo focused his Justice energy on healing the bodies of the two brave souls before him as the Evil abomination slowly pieced itself together.

"I know not how events may have played out in previous instances of our lives," he calmly told the two, ignoring their looks of surprise. Ultimately, it mattered little. The events of now were of paramount concern. "However, this time the dimension we find ourselves in is worse than the parasite it might otherwise seem. It is a vile tumor upon the fabric of reality, and if it is left to grow unchecked it will poison all realities it comes in contact with. Its influence _cannot_ be allowed to spread further. If this corruption is not cleansed and both universes rebalanced, the consequences will be _beyond_ dire."

Duo looked the two heroes in the eye. He could sense that their souls and minds were older than their bodies would suggest. How and why this had happened was not a mystery for him to unravel. The avatar of Justice knew his place in the cosmos, and delving into the mysteries of a timeline that seemingly folded back in on itself, much less those who were caught in the repeating folds, was not it. His place was to administer Justice and maintain the balance. (18)

"Go!" he told them. "I will handle this... thing... and join you when I can."

"Thanks Duo!" Mega Man called back as the two heroes sped out of the chamber and on their way just as the 'Chaos Devil', as they called it, finished reforming and surged towards him in its tainted rage.

"I sense Evil – but also nobility," Duo told the beast as he prepared to meet its charge. It was also chaotic, but it was a noble Chaos that he sensed. The rarest and most precious kind. Something well worth his efforts to free from its unnatural imprisonment. "You are a creature conflicted. I will purge the Evil from you."

Duo's glowing fist met the living water of the Chaos Devil's body with a tremendous splash, only for Duo to be thrown back by a swipe of multiple tentacle limbs from the beast. The space robot braced his landing with his knees and looked up to see the beast pointing a limb at him that formed a mouth in which a torrent of water was preparing to fire.

The beast roared at him, and the avatar of Justice clenched his giant glowing fist and smiled.

"I fear no Evil."

* * *

"So, what's Eiken?" Rock asked as he and Sonic raced further into the Wily Egg, blasting their way through an infestation of motobugs. "And what does it have to do with breaking the universe?"

Sonic winced. "Pretty much everyone ends up doing something sooner or later that causes a Loop to end pretty abruptly. Used to be people tried to end the Loops in creative and destructive ways before the admins got their act together and started telling people what was going on. But even now a lot of us loopers do crazy junk when we get bored that we'd never do if death was still permanent for us. Eiken's the Loop we tend to end up in when we do something really stupid. It's practically a rite of passage by now, so I'm not gonna spoil it for ya."

"Huh," Rock digested that.

"Anyway, how do you think your sister's doing?" Sonic asked.

* * *

Waltz stood above Roll as the heroic sister of Mega Man glared from where she was pinned. Waltz had one leg holding down her waist, the other firmly planted on her Mega Buster, one hand restraining Roll's other arm, and the last hand caressing Roll's face tauntingly.

"Did you think this was going to go any other way?" Waltz taunted. "I told you. I told you it was only a matter of time until I started repeating too, right? These... Loops your brother's friend called them?"

Roll's eyes widened. _'No...'_

"I have to thank you for carrying my past self with you like you did," Waltz grinned maniacally. "I'd have never remembered if you hadn't let me scan you with the Copy Chip father gave me."

Few really understood how the Copy Chip worked. Some thought it was a part of the Variable Tool System Dr. Light had developed for Blues and adapted for her and Rock to better aid their household duties. Others believed it merely copied weapons.

But that was a fraction of what it really did. The Copy Chip allowed her and Rock to scan nearly everything about a robot they came in physical contact with. Their systems, sure, but also their data. She and her brother could even touch a robot's spirit and take with them an echo if that robot was advanced enough to have such a thing. Most robot masters barely had one, but some had more developed spirits, and a precious few like she and her brothers seemed to have true souls.

But Waltz... Waltz had something Roll could only describe as foul. Foul and _wrong_.

And... And it seemed that a small piece of that had trojaned itself in Roll that failed life when she'd scanned Waltz, and had now found its way back to Waltz. Something that could survive through the Loops. Something that could effectively Awaken any version of Waltz who came in contact with her. (19)

"I bet you thought you'd make a heroic charge, right?" Waltz abruptly shifted topic, seemingly content to torment Roll before finishing her off. "A series of 'this one's for this guy', 'this one's for that gal', 'this one's for someone I met on the subway one Thursday when it was raining', 'this one's for everything else', and of course 'this one's for me'. A fury of righteous anger, right?"

"Wrong," Roll retorted, cutting off whatever came next. There was only so much of Waltz's inane ramblings she could take, Awake or no. "I don't have any fury for me."

The musing about Waltz Awakening had reminded her. There were other souls she'd touched, other echoes she'd gained, and recently at that. Her colors shifted to cream and red as she recalled a young rabbit girl who wished for nothing so much as a world where everyone could get along and be friends, only to have people like Waltz continually tear it away from her and force kind souls like hers to fight wars they were never meant to.

"This one though," Roll glared at her tormentor. "This one's for what you tried to do to my brother."

Waltz attempted to stop Roll's legs from coming up in a kick, but she shouldn't have bothered. The Omochao drone fired from Roll's pinned arm cannon pulled a sharp turn and uppercutted the insane female robot, causing her to flail wildly and fire her finger cannons at random, not a single shot coming anywhere near the drone in her face or the captive under her feet.

Roll surged upwards as Waltz stumbled back, turning red and yellow as she channeled the spirit of the Mighty, the armadillo as kind and gentle to those in need as he was stalwart and strong in the face of adversity.

"And this one's for what you _did_ do to Quint!" she roared, sinking the Mighty Blow into Waltz's gut.

* * *

"I'm still worried, but that's because she's my sister," Rock told his friend as the two dealt with a colony of battons. "I'm sure she's fine."

* * *

Ray charged into battle alongside Beat who had joined him for whatever reason. He was nervous as hell, but no one would have been able to guess as he jumped on the back of Aircon Man and began to wail on the robot master.

* * *

"And while we're on the subject of your brothers," Roll continued, shifting to yellow and white for the gift from Ray, the eternally nervous and frightened flying squirrel who nonetheless always stepped up to help his friends in times of need. She zoomed forth on the Ray Glide, closing in on the opponent she'd sent flying with her last blow, ramming into her and climbing still higher. "_This_ is for what you did to Bass and Treble in that other life!"

* * *

Indiana Charmy dove stinger first at Plug Man, readying his whip. _'So glad I remembered I had this outfit!'_ Charmy thought to himself.

* * *

"Actually, I'm kind of curious about the super form I'm starting to vaguely recall from last time," Rock continued as the two dodged an assault from several buzzbombers. "Any reason you haven't used it yet?"

"Yeah," Sonic replied as he did a Homing Attack combo. "Those things have a cool down period before you can use them again, so you only want to use them if you have to or know you can finish the fight with 'em."

* * *

Espio stared calmly at Crystal Man as he ninja-chopped several of the robot's Crystal Eye projectiles in half.

* * *

Roll turned black and gray as she and her opponent fell towards the ground. The spirit of Shade, an echidna stealth expert who had been caught between the order that had raised her and doing the right thing by others, echoed through her. "Speaking of the other lifetime, this is for the mall full of people you had Dangan Man gun down in cold blood!"

Waltz moved her head to the side and kicked Roll away from her, the Stealth Mine continuing on to latch into the ground and arm itself.

* * *

Marine stood protectively over a recovering Blaze as she blasted Star Man with a torrent of water. None of these bloody bounces were getting her best mate. Not while the great captain Marine had anything to say about it!

* * *

"I actually kinda collect super forms and things that can induce one," Sonic relayed as the two heroes climbed up a ladder while under fire. "Which is how I discovered 'super sickness'."

"Let me guess," Rock smirked. "You use too many super forms too fast and your system crashes hard?"

"Worse than any hangover in the multiverse," Sonic nodded. "With the _possible_ exception of one caused by that Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster stuff."

* * *

Blade Man (or was it Razor Man?) fell to the ground as he was blasted by Bunnie Rabbot.

* * *

Roll touched upon the spiritual echo of the hyperactive raccoon captain, Marine, as she turned green and brown. Emotional. Dedicated. A skilled sailor and true friend.

"This is for sending Aircon Man into traffic and having him blow around cars with the people still inside!" Roll yelled as she unleashed a torrent of water at her opponent with Hydrokinesis.

* * *

Amy fought back the urge to whip out one of the big techniques she'd picked up in the Loops as she bashed yet another robot master into the ground with her hammer. Restraint. She needed to prove to Sonic and the others that she knew restraint. Over and over for however many Loops it took for them to forget any resemblance to that _other_ looper known by her pink hair. (20)

* * *

"Which reminds me," Sonic hopped across a series of metools like that Mario guy had taught him one Loop for fun, "your space buddy Duo is kind of interesting. He always been like that?"

"Ha!" Rock laughed. "I remember this conversation from the baseline! We ended up talking about Wisps or something."

* * *

Shade crossed her energy-draining blades with Slash Man's claws while Rush and Tango both pounced on Centaur Man nearby.

* * *

Purple and yellow. The colors of Rotor, the walrus mechanic who would rather be tinkering in a shop and had instead been thrust into a war as a child.

"This is for the factory workers you had Konro man burn alive!" Roll fired the Shockwave Boomer, clipping Waltz as the insane robot attempted to bum rush her.

But she kept coming, firing wildly the whole way.

* * *

Knuckles grinned as his punch shattered the crystal-shaped dome protecting Chill Man's head. Man, but he loved being able to cut loose without needing his Guardian powers!

* * *

"That's right!" Sonic recalled as the two heroes slid through a twisting pipe and out into an area bombarded by energy blasts from some sort of screw-like turrets that shot in six directions.

Rock chuckled at Sonic's enthusiasm as he blasted the turrets apart.

* * *

Sagittarius's eyes widened as Antoine cut his Blazing Arrows out of mid-air and closed in on him.

* * *

"This..." Roll began, turning brown and blue as she was filled with the echo of Sally, the ground squirrel princess turned revolutionary leader. A girl forced to grown up far too fast for the sake of her friends and people. "...is for the emergency response teams..."

As Waltz leapt at her, she ducked and then rose again with the Electric Blades, severing Waltz's right hand from her arm. "_...that you had Komuso Man slaughter!_"

Waltz stumbled backwards in pain, and tripped over the Stealth Mine that had been armed earlier.

***BOOM!***

* * *

Silver's Psychokinetic power clashed with Pharaoh Man's Pharaoh Shot while Vector clutched his arm where he'd been clipped by a lucky shot behind the time traveler.

* * *

"Man," Sonic continued as the two dodged around a slew of drills that flew from the floor to the ceiling, or vice versa, "you have got to find a way to my Loop sometime so we can see what you can do with one."

"Ha ha!" Rock laughed. "You never told me what they did last time!"

* * *

(This battle by masterofgames)

"Gotcha!" Rouge grinned wildly as she tackled yet another Jewel Man.

"No! NO! Not again! Get her off me!" he screamed, crying like a baby as Rouge disabled his limbs.

"Oh relax, would you? A girl has needs." Rouge rolled her eyes as she gave the enormous jewel on his head a loving caress. "We've done this a dozen times, and we'll do it as many times as I feel like. This pretty little ornament of yours gets pulled off, and goes in my pocket. Then, I finish you off, the docs time clone you in, and we do it all again! And you can't do a thing to stop me!" she teased. "Now, enough chit-chat, let's get... huh?" Rouge blinked, pausing and glancing down at her hand ruffling through her, in hindsight clearly lighter than before, belt pouch. "Great, dropped my tools somewhere..." she huffed, folding her arms in a pout.

"Oh thank the maker!"

"You hush!" she scolded, putting on a radio headset. "Tails, hun, I know you're busy, but would you be a dear and toss me a screwdriver?"

"Seriously!? Now!? I'm a little busy Rouge!" came the disbelieving response, as Tails somehow managed to swerve through the airborne robot masters in the airspace above her.

Rouge just sighed, pulling a red fedora out of her subspace pocket and plopping it atop her head. "Tails, look at me." she ordered.

Up above, Tails managed to find enough of a break in the dogfight to glance down.

Rouge grinned, she could see his eyes bulging from clear down here. "Screwdriver. NOW!" she repeated.

"Y-yes ma'am!" he squeaked, swerving to fly over her, flipping upside down, and letting one fall free from his tool belt down towards her.

Rouge snatched it out of the air with a grin. "That's a good boy."

Really, that hat was a godsend in getting the fox to do what she wanted. Tails had been in Hellsing loops before, and wanted as little to do with them as he could. And as a bat, who else was she going to be from those loops?

It would be a darn shame the day he found out it was really from her time spent as Carmen Sandiego.

_'Ah well, best to deal with that when it comes.'_ she thought to herself, jabbing the screwdriver into Jewel Man's head and humming 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' with a smile as she started prying her prize free, while he futilely begged his fellow robot masters to help him.

* * *

Roll turned brown and pink for the cybernetic Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette. The lapine southern belle with a temper that burned as bright as her passions. Targeting the still-recovering Waltz, she fired the Rabbot Laser at her leg.

"This is for what you had the Clock Men do to that hospital!" she cried as she took out Waltz's mobility.

* * *

E-123 Omega and Dangan Man both attempted to redefine 'bullet hell' as they dueled each other.

* * *

"It's awesome!" Sonic exclaimed as he bounced off the shield of a Sniper Joe, knocking the green robot prone. "They bond with those they like and give them these wicked cool powers!"

"That sounds great!" Rock grinned, running past the downed robot. "It's a deal then!"

* * *

Big smiled to himself as he caught a big fish that was trying to hurt his friends. Shark Man just thrashed and cursed from where he was bound tight by the extra-tough fishing line.

* * *

Waltz desperately tried to fire back, but Roll turned red and brown for the coyote guard Antoine D'Coolette. Former unintentional laughingstock turned noble romantic and master swordsman.

The Trick Sword flashed out, deflecting the shots from Waltz's remaining finger cannons, one of which was reflected back into Waltz's eye.

"And you can consider _that_ for sending Compass Man to massacre the police!"

* * *

Charge Man's face met Mighty's fist in a head-on collision.

* * *

A gate in the style that Rock was exceedingly familiar with stood in front of the true blue heroes. Upon it was the left half of the self-styled symbol of Dr. Eggman and the right half of Dr. Wily's skull emblem, a lightning bolt dividing the two as well as uniting them in a single icon.

"I take it this is the place?" Sonic asked rhetorically.

"Oh, yeah," Rock replied as the two approached. "I've seen enough of these doors to last me _several_ lifetimes."

The gate slid up, revealing a pitch black room beyond.

* * *

Rotor grunted as he held on tight to Frost Man and tried to sabotage the giant robot's systems.

* * *

"And this," Roll stated to her recovering opponent as her colors turned red and black with yellow trim, the colors of Omega. The little bird in a robot who understood and respected the value of life and peace, but still could not help but see inherent beauty in acts of destruction. "This is for the little girl whose family you murdered in front of her."

The Omega Gatling punctuated the statement repeatedly as Roll fired it into Waltz's face and upper torso.

"M-m-m-mercy!" The decimated Waltz sputtered and sparked.

* * *

*KA-CHUNK*

The sudden light blinded Rock and Sonic, but the sight it revealed was not what either of them were expecting.

"Teleporters?" Rock puzzled over the sight of teleporter units ringing the room. Twenty-two in all, with an inactive one in the center. _'This isn't what's supposed to be here...'_

"Where's Metal Sonic and that Bass guy?" Sonic scratched his head.

"Not here," replied the voice of Sonic, but from one of the teleporters instead of the hedgehog himself.

Each of the other teleporters flared with light until replicas of the roboticized masters plus one extra stood before them.

"You'll have to settle for the Paradox Masters instead," Sonic's own double declared.

* * *

Dr. Light stood back to back with his eldest son, each fighting off the army of robot masters with their respective arm cannons. His son's built-in and his own hastily pieced together.

There were times when he despaired of ever reconciling with his eldest child, but he had two beacons of hope: The shades and the scarf.

The original scarf had been damaged beyond repair in the battle with Ra Moon, but it had been a gift from Dr. Light to his son when the boy spotted it in a window and asked if he could have it. He'd loved that scarf and had worn it everywhere, even to the ill-fated test run for the military. That he'd replaced it as quickly as possible told Dr. Light that he valued what it stood for.

The shades had been a similar gift, given to Blues on a day out when the sunlight had been a bit brighter than his experimental ocular sensors could tolerate. Blues had so loved those that he'd _insisted_ on a shaded Sit-Rep visor for his helmet. The doctor had no idea what had happened to those original shades, but the fact that his son still insisted on wearing a pair told him the same thing as the scarf.

If his son needed time to sort out his feelings, Dr. Light would give it to him. He'd give his son all the time he needed.

* * *

Sonic looked at the gathered robotic versions of his friends and allies that surrounded him and Rock. He glared at the one of himself in particular.

_'Paradox clones,'_ he groaned mentally. He'd been hoping that particular Skaia staple had been derailed with the oddities pervading this place. It seemed there wasn't going to be any such luck. _'Paradox _robo_-clones at that. As if I didn't have enough headaches to deal with right now.'_

At least the place didn't seem capable of paradox-cloning robots. Probably because they didn't have any DNA to clone with.

"They're not roboticized," Rock told him, the Sit-Rep shades sliding back up into his helmet. "They're just robot replicas with barely decent AIs."

"Good," Sonic growled. "Because I've had just about _enough_ of this. SPEED BREAK!"

Sonic vanished in a blur, zig-zagging around the room and cutting through all twenty-two robots in the space of a few seconds before reappearing next to Rock and falling to his knees.

"You okay?" Rock asked, wide-eyed.

"I'll be fine," Sonic waved him off. "Just a little light-headed. Memo to file: Speed Break is _not_ meant for cornering more than ninety degrees."

"I can imagine," Rock helped the hedgehog to his feet.

"I'll bet you can," a new voice interjected from the middle of the room.

* * *

Roll stared at the insane robot, who seemed just as surprised as she was with the plea for mercy. Waltz. The unrepentant killer who Roll would have sworn didn't even possess the word in her vocabulary.

And yet...

"Alright," Roll agreed as she turned her buster back into a hand and powered down her weapons. Rock had always believed in giving his enemies a chance to reform. Even those who had done terrible things or maliciously hurt others. And even though she'd suffered so much pain and trauma across multiple lifetimes, it was an attitude she couldn't find fault with. The drive to save everyone was as much hers as it was her brothers'.

Even if that someone was Waltz.

"I s-s-sup-pose this i-i-is for-r-r-r you-u, rig-ght?" Waltz giggled and sparked, trying to regain some sense of superiority in the situation. Roll moved to stand over her and perform some quick maintenance to ensure Waltz didn't shut down after asking for mercy. "Got-t-t-t-ta mak-k-ke yours-s-self fe-e-e-el bet-t-ter-r? Sh-sh-how m-me how-w much-ch-h I-I-I'm n-not a t-t-th-hreat?"

It was a kindness Waltz found she couldn't stand. "YO-OUR MISTA-A-AKE!" she yelled and lunged her one good hand in a final effort to kill Roll by shooting her through the head.

"No," Roll disagreed as she casually caught Waltz's one working hand in hers. An instant later Waltz's five remaining finger cannons had been crushed, leaving the insane robot weaponless. "This is for you. Because for all your madness and all the misery and pain you've wrought, you never had another choice. Whatever screw-up Wily made when programming you left you unable to take another path in life. You are the one who suffers for another's mistake."

"THE-3-e-ERE IS-s-$-S NO-o-0-O MI-!-I-i-ISTAKE!" Waltz screamed and shorted. "I A- -AM W-w-\/\/-WHO I-i-1-!-I SHOUL-l-LD-d-|)-d-D BE!"

"I don't think you're who anyone should be," Roll retorted as she patched the shorts and sparks. That would hold Waltz together until she got back. If she got back. "Not without being able to choose for themselves."

"I'LL NEVER CHOOSE ANYTHING ELSE!" Waltz screamed after her, her shattered body prone and helpless. "I EXIST TO SPREAD PAIN AND SUFFERING! IT'S POINTLESS TO TRY!"

"Well," Roll threw back over her shoulder with a sad smile, "we're in the Loops now. I have eternity to find out for sure."

"I'LL BRING ALL OF REALITY CRASHING DOWN FIRST!" Waltz screamed, barely coherent. "DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'LL NEVER REFORM ME AND YOU'LL NEVER BE RID OF ME!"

But Roll was already dashing down the corridor in the direction her brother had gone and paid her former opponent no more mind.

_'I'm coming, brother.'_

* * *

The light of the formerly inactive central teleporter died down, revealing the very robots the two heroes had been expecting in the first place: Bass, Treble, and Metal Sonic.

"I've _really_ been looking forward to this!" Bass grinned as he led the charge.

* * *

The two doctors alternated between finishing up their joint war machine and sniping each other with thinly veiled antagonistic remarks as the walls of the Wily Egg reverberated with the sounds of battle between Duo and the Chaos Devil.

* * *

Rock wasn't having an easy time of things against Bass and Treble. Bass's general arrogance when he felt he was in control of a situation made it all too easy to forget how dangerous an opponent Wily's 'black prince' (21) could be when he dropped all pretenses and fought seriously.

Behind him, he heard the crash Sonic made when his own opponent managed to catch the hedgehog off guard in the middle of gloating.

Most of the Wily's altered timeline from the 'Genesis Wave' Sonic had told him of was pretty minor, the biggest difference being the presence of the Constellation Droids on Earth rather than... wherever it was they were from originally. But Bass... Wily had clearly gone above and beyond when altering Bass's life.

For one, Bass's rapid fire upgrade that he was pinning Rock down with hadn't been developed for him until right before the incident with King. The event that was the start of Bass's move from working with Wily to kinda-sorta working with the Light siblings. But that hadn't happened in the new timeline, and Bass had remained completely loyal to Dr. Wily.

"Stop hiding and _fight me!_ Coward!" Bass yelled as he continued to unleash a continuous rain of buster fire.

What _also_ hadn't happened was Bass's fight with Roll, and apparently his resulting crush on Rock's sister. Bass wasn't a time cloned servant of Wily, he was Wily's own son with a newly rewritten past and memories courtesy of his father.

And all the more dangerous for it.

Rock cut off his reflections and ducked a pouncing strike from Treble and turned to fire on the robotic wolf.

"Maybe if you stop sending Treble to do your dirty work!" Rock shouted back as Treble yelped in pain, knowing exactly the kind of reaction this was going to produce. After all, he tended to act the same way when it was Rush being hurt.

**"**_**DON'T TOUCH MY DOG!**_**"** Bass roared as he leapt down, charging his buster at the same time.

Rock jumped to the side of the charged shot as it melted through one of the steel boxes littering the chamber, and heard Sonic shout in pain as the hedgehog was clipped by the thermal backwash of the blast.

"You okay, Sonic?" Rock asked while taking in the situation. Odd. Bass was checking on Treble rather than pressing the attack, which was to be expected, but Metal Sonic just seemed to be hanging there for no apparent reason.

"Little crispy, but I'll be fine," Sonic replied, a few of his quills smoldering. "Whaddya say we mix it up a bit and take each other's usual dance partners? See if that makes this go a bit faster."

Rock had a feeling, or maybe a partially restored memory, that it wasn't going to go like that, but he was game to try if Sonic was.

* * *

Duo was no longer sure exactly where in the battlestation he was, and he really didn't much care. The mechanical ruin all around him and his opponent made it rather difficult to tell in any case.

* * *

Sonic's baseline memories may be rusty, but he was pretty sure he knew how to handle this chump.

Zig-zag around his rapid-fire energy blasts at high speed, pointedly not think about what would happen if this dude and Omega ever got together, perform a sweet Time Break slide under a pouncing robo-wolf, pop up and–

"–_OOF!_"

_'Run gut-first into this guy's power kick,'_ Sonic mentally griped as he flew back in an explosion of rings. _'Thank you, rusty baseline memories.'_

* * *

Dr. Light and Blues whipped around as one to fire behind the other's back at advancing opponents.

* * *

As soon as Rock had moved to challenge Metal Sonic, the robot hedgehog had begun racing around the circular wall of the chamber at incredible speeds. Clearly the room had been designed to allow exactly this for the mechanical double of Sonic quickly accelerated to speeds that Rock couldn't properly track or target.

But he knew that his opponent eventually had to break the pattern and that would be when he would strike with the shot he was now charging. Almost as if his thoughts triggered the reaction, Metal Sonic broke from his path to fly at Rock.

"_Gotcha!_" Rock declared as he fired straight at his oncoming opponent. And an instant later, he got a flash of what was about to happen and began moving to counter.

Metal Sonic powered through the shot encased in an eight-sided dark energy diamond-shaped barrier and reached out for Rock's face with his metal hands.

"_Gah!_" Rock couldn't dodge the speedy assault, but neither could Metal Sonic avoid the counter-kick Rock had begun. Both combatants tumbled, with Metal Sonic managing to arrest his movement and Rock continuing on into a metal crate with enough force to crack it in time for Sonic to dive behind the crate for cover from Bass's buster fire.

"Okay, the switching opponents idea was my bad," Sonic huffed and puffed, next to where Rock was kneeling.

Rock took a moment to give thanks for overconfident opponents as Bass ceased firing and, by the sound of his footfalls, simply walked up from behind where he and Sonic were while Metal Sonic simply hovered stoically in place ahead of them. "What's up with the rings?" he asked while thinking on options. "I didn't see you drop any on the way here."

"Eh, they have a weird tendency to pop out of subspace pockets when whoever has them takes a hit," Sonic admitted. "I'm usually focused enough to hang on to them anyway, but your boy Bass blindsided me with a good one. I still think Hermes is somehow responsible for them doing that though."

* * *

Hermes took offense at the look Hephaestus was giving him. "What? I'm not! I swear! The things naturally form their own subspace pocket when collected and eject from it to save the holder from harm! Honest! It's not my fault Sonic and his friends used that as a base to form their own subspace pockets! Why won't anyone believe me on this?!"

"The girls back at the nurse school made a list," one of the nymphs piped up cheerfully as she walked in from the outer office. "You wanna see it?"

"If you could forward it over after this is finished, I'd appreciate it," Hephaestus grinned, going back to analyzing the genesis chamber's code.

"Oh," the nymph continued a little nervously, "the valkyries wanted you to know that if you don't come up with a better solution for..." she paused for a moment and checked the room over before deciding to be cautious anyway, "...mistress Aphrodite's, ah, messages than rerouting them to the outer office once you're done with the current problem then they'll, er, take action against the source."

"I'll help them pick out weapons," Hephaestus replied darkly.

"_No_," Hermes admonished forcefully. "Accessory to deicide is _not_ the answer! I know you can upgrade your spam filter as soon as the situation stabilizes so there's no need to do something drastic."

"Killjoy," Hephaestus grumped.

* * *

"How many rings do you have?" Rock asked as a plan formed.

"Dunno," Sonic shrugged. "I stopped keeping track a long time ago. I just know that every billionth one comes mounted on its own plaque for some reason. So, double team one at a time I take it? We did your guy first last time if I recall, so let's go with mine this time."

"There was a reason we did Bass first," Rock argued.

"Fine," Sonic huffed. "Rock, paper, scissors."

As one, the two both threw scissors, and then paper. Sonic grinned as he recalled what was about to happen and realized that Rock didn't remember the exact outcome. Rock was gonna throw rock, so all he had to do was throw pa–

_Scissors._

–per?

Sonic stared at where he'd thrown scissors against his friend's rock. "Nertz," he swore. "Fine."

* * *

"And you wonder why we believe you'd sabotage a subspace pocket for laughs," Hephaestus teased Hermes.

"Hey," Hermes defended himself. "Rock has the right idea and it's a path we already know leads to success. Perfectly good reason to slip Sonic a subconscious suggestion message and influence his reflexes."

"Right, you keep telling yourself that."

* * *

"Cover me!" Sonic called as they both dove out of the way of Metal Sonic and let the robotic hedgehog embed himself in the metal crate behind them.

Bass opened fire on both of them and Rock began returning it as Sonic revved up a Spin Dash and sped past the black-armored robot and into his canine support unit. That got Bass's attention and Sonic ricocheted off of several crates and towards his and Rock's joint opponent.

* * *

Roll swore to herself as she battled her way past a small army of various Joe units with her broom-staff. Rock and Sonic had obviously already been this way from evidence she'd seen earlier but of _course_ they couldn't clean up after themselves!

* * *

Rock turned black and red as he called upon the weapon of Shadow, the brash and arrogant rival of Sonic and dark defender of their world. Should he and Bass ever meet they'd either be fast friends or flat out try to kill each other.

"CHAOS CANNON!" Rock yelled out as Bass casually backhanded Sonic's Homing Attack out of the air.

As focused as he was on the hedgehog, Bass failed to dodge and was frozen in place by the weaponized temporal distortion. Sonic took quick advantage and Bass cried out in pain as Treble leapt for Rock.

Turning teal and white, helmet colors reversed, Rock channeled the echo of Silver, the psychokinetic displaced from his own time and, prior to the Loops, working to ensure the safety of his future era by aiding the heroes of the past.

Treble yelped as the Psycho Burst encased him and shoved him across the room while Bass single-mindedly continued to fire on Sonic. Rock turned to his rival and fired on him while he was distracted.

"Time to drop the Bass!" Sonic grinned as said robot was lifted into the air by the borrowed psychic power Rock was using. Leaping up after him, Sonic then drove Bass back into the ground with a Homing Attack.

Off to the side, Metal Sonic finished extracting himself from the crate he'd gotten stuck in and flew at Rock at the same time Treble charged from the other side.

Rock immediately shifted to purple and black for the honorable Chaotix ninja Espio and engaged the Chroma Camo. He backstepped out of the path of both assailants and winced as they crashed face first into each other. Not even missing a beat, he turned the green and lime of the music loving brawler-turned-detective leader of the Chaotix, Vector, and fired the Acoustic Blaster as he shouted a warning to Sonic.

Thanks to the warning, Sonic sidestepped the shot and gave Rock a thumbs up as Bass was hit right in the face with the sound-based weapon. Taking the opening, Sonic kicked Bass back towards Rock who had changed to red and pink as he called up the chosen weapon of Amy, dedicated friend and defender as well as Sonic's occasionally disturbing stalker/paramour, and smashed Bass's head into the ground with the Piko Hammer.

PIKO!

* * *

Shade had joined up with Ray and Beat at some point with Rush and Tango in tow. She'd often been somewhat puzzled by the flying squirrel's insistence that he wasn't a useful asset to his team or allies. From where she stood, the boy was at least as skilled in martial combat as many of her former clan and was an asset that any group would be proud to claim. Yet he constantly claimed inferiority. Sure, most of his peers were loopers with many lifetimes of experience over him, but the boy seemed to think that he was the weakest of their extended group even in the baseline.

Not that such was really helping one way or the other. Loopers or not, experienced warriors or otherwise, they were all beginning to tire. The robot masters were coming that little bit closer, doing just a touch more damage with their efforts. And her allies were beginning to group together in an effort to find some respite against the endless onslaught. Bigger assaults in response would either drain them faster or leave them open to counterattack. And still make no overall dent in the number of the enemy.

What they needed was reinforcements.

* * *

"Bass is down!" Rock declared as he switched weapons again and took aim at Metal Sonic.

"Keep up the pressure!" Sonic reminded him redundantly as he raced towards his usual foe.

Rock's colors of orange and white denoted the power of Tails, the high-flying young fox genius and Sonic's longest standing friend and ally. He unleashed the Tail Wind upon the recovering Metal Sonic as Treble, sparking from one of his hind legs, barked fruitlessly at him.

Sonic came up behind his robotic double as he was hit and drove both feet into the robot's back, driving him into the ground and riding him across the floor like a skateboard.

"This is your stop!" Sonic called to his foe, hopping off as a red and white Rock; flush with the favored weapon of Knuckles, the eternal and sometimes lonely guardian of the floating island; drove the Spiked Knuckle into the back of Metal Sonic's head.

Except that Metal Sonic had apparently had enough, and rose into the air with an aura of energy that Sonic recognized as the V. Maximum Overdrive Attack and drove himself straight into Rock's torso. Sonic raced after the two as they rocketed across the chamber and through a metal crate or two before the overdrive cut out.

Rock was ready when it happened and switched to the black and yellow of the Rapid Stinger. Flipping around in an acrobatic maneuver as Metal Sonic flew by, he could feel the echo of Charmy, the childish member of the Chaotix, give Metal Sonic a raspberry even as the needles peppered the malicious robot repeatedly.

Sonic raced past the bouncing Rock and drove a Spin Dash into his robotic rival as hard as he could.

* * *

Bass growled impotently where he lay, until Treble manage to limp over carrying a pair of E-Tanks Dr. Wily had given the wolf 'just in case'.

_'Alright, pops,'_ Bass thought to himself as he popped one of the cans for Treble and the other for himself and began drinking, _'just this once I'll accept your help in beating Mega Man.'_

* * *

"I think Metal Sonic's down for the count," Sonic spoke up as he finished his post-impact skid, seeing the sparking form of his robot double try and fail to stand.

Rock switched back to his default Mega Buster at the announcement. "And Bass is–"

"–JUST GETTING STARTED!" said robot called out from where he was just finishing his fusion with Treble. Immediately, Bass in his super adapter form flapped his wings and flew into the air where he fired a charged shot upwards. That shot hit something in the ceiling which absorbed it and began raining down refracted energy bursts.

"_Holy!_" Sonic yelped, frantically dodging the energy rain.

Weaving through the bolts from long experience, Rock changed weapons again. This time to the white and black with pink trim that represented Rouge, the part-time secret agent and part-time jewel obsessed master thief. Firing the Black Wave at Bass scored a hit and caused Wily's dark enforcer to seize up as the stunning properties of the weapon coursed over his systems.

Unfortunately, both Rock and Sonic took lucky blows from the energy rain and it looked like Bass was going to recover from his stunned state before they could take advantage of it when the gate to the chamber opened and a yellow figure dashed in.

* * *

Bass strained against the shorts in his system that Mega Man's weapon had produced, determined to break free and take out his opponents before they got back to their feet. As he regained mobility, he laughed.

"This is it, Mega Man!" he yelled as he charged up for another blast. "I've finally won! There's no way you can dodge this!"

"Hey, Bass!" a female voice interrupted him. Turning, Bass saw Mega Woman leaping for him with her ridiculous broom weapon. "SHUT!"

The female robot swung with all her might before Bass could retarget his buster and crac–

_I think I'm in..._

–ked him hard on his chin, whipping his head back and making him lose control of his flight.

"_UP!_"

* * *

Rock couldn't believe their good fortune. Roll had arrived in the nick of time and used her broom-staff to knock Bass out of the air. She was wailing on him, driving him across the room without letting up and allowing him and Sonic to get to their feet.

"Rock," Sonic grinned as he revved up to charge into battle and help their mutual savior, "I said it before, but it's worth repeating: Your sister is officially awesome."

"Preaching to the choir," Rock told him as he switched to the weapon of Blaze; the refined, level headed, and at times strict ruler and pyrokinetic of a dimension parallel to Sonic's; turning violet and white.

As one of Roll's strikes knocked Bass back further than the others, Sonic took full advantage and hit the currently winged robot full in the torso with a Spin Dash. With Bass knocked even further back, Rock had a clear shot for the Fire Tornado and took it with extreme prejudice.

When it was over, the smoldering form of Bass combined with Treble fell to the ground.

* * *

"Now, Albert?" Dr. Eggman asked impatiently. Their machine was finished, so what _was_ he waiting for?

"Not yet, Ivo," Dr. Wily calmly observed the events in the room on his monitor.

* * *

As the trio of heroes were celebrating, a torrent of what looked like metallic parchment fell from above. All three dodged, only to find that they weren't the targets. Instead, the 'metal paper' wrapped around Bass and Metal Sonic and retracted towards a new figure where it unwrapped and set them down gently.

The new figure was a red-eyed robot with parchment colored armor over a black body.

"Is it just me, or does this guy's armor look like folded paper?" Sonic jerked his thumb in the direction of the newcomer.

"I am Origami Man," the robot declared. (22)

* * *

"Now."

* * *

The wall behind the three exploded before any further action could be taken by or against Origami Man. A massive beam of energy erupted forth and struck Sonic head on, knocking him out and resulting in a deluge of rings erupting from the point of impact. Rock and Roll managed to catch a glimpse of a skull-shaped head on the robot with gray horns reminiscent of Wily's hairstyle and a metal orange mustache clearly meant to represent Eggman.

However, the glut of rings that fell around them prevented them from defending themselves as a pair of giant spiked rocket fists slammed fully into them. The spikes were far enough apart that they only took the blunt force of the impact, but they were still rendered as unconscious as Sonic had been.

* * *

The Freedom Fighters had grouped back together and were covering for each other as they fell back towards Dr. Light. Across the battlefield others were grouping together and doing the same.

The suggestion had been brought up by a few to break out weapons or techniques capable of widespread destruction to deal with the army of robot masters, but Sally and others had backed up Sonic's request not to. The mad doctors had apparently destroyed a pair of city-moons and their respective armies and fleets, and the army of robot masters alone was nowhere _near_ capable of such a feat. The possible reasons for holding something like that back made no sense, but then again, neither did much of what the doctors did. Unleashing larger firepower could entice the doctors to call forth whatever they might have in reserve.

* * *

"Cerebral download complete. Self-repairs at 90%."

Bass came to at the sound of Metal Sonic speaking from across the room. He opened his eyes and spotted his assigned 'partner' drop the head of one of the Paradox Masters that Mega Man and Sonic had defeated before they'd been allowed to come in. The robotic hedgehog then began making his way towards another.

"I will surpass Sonic. I will surpass Eggman. I will surpass all," the robot stated as he picked up the head of Paradox Sonic and extended his clawed fingers into the cranium. "Cerebral download commencing. Self-repairs at 95%."

"Well," Bass grinned to himself. He hurt all over, but he was still fused with Treble and functioning. "Looks like we have a traitor in our midst."

"Yes," said Wily's paper-themed hobby robot next to him. "Action needs to be taken. Here, you will need this."

Bass almost considered slapping the S-Tank away, but the robot was right. Bass hated to admit weakness, but it hurt to move right now. And this opponent wasn't Mega Man, or his sis–

_I think I'm in l..._

–ter. He wasn't an honorable – where did that thought come from? – rival. He was a threat to the mission, his dad, and everything else. He was going down hard. So Bass took the S-Tank and drank it, as well as accepted the offered had from the robot master to get up.

He then copied the robot's master weapon and shot the weak piece of scrap in the head. Bass still had his pride after all. Plus Metal Sonic seemed to like hijacking robot brains for some reason, so best not to leave any lying about, right?

"Cerebral download complete," the metal hedgehog intoned as it dropped the final Paradox Master's head. "Self-repairs complete. Targeting unit Bass for elimination and download."

"Not gonna happen," Bass sneered at his newest enemy.

* * *

The three heroes had woken up in a trio of capsules bound by energy restraints. That they were still alive was a pleasant surprise, but not unexpected. If there was anything the doctors loved to do, it was gloat.

And gloat they did. Another common trait between the two was that they were long winded and loved to hear themselves talk. (23)

* * *

The combined allies of Sonic and Mega Man had all fallen back into a single group surrounded on all sides by their foes. Even Tails had transformed the Tornado into its ground walker mode and joined the rest. Powers, weapons fire, and explosives peppered the surrounding robot masters as the group attempted to keep them at bay.

"Don't worry doctor," Cream told the Light patriarch as she and Cheese helped him fend off the advancing army, "Sonic and the Mega Twins will save us!"

"Oh, I have faith that they'll save our _worlds_," the scientist said as he used his knowledge of his own designs' weak points to disable Galaxy Man, "but right now _we_ need a miracle."

As if something had been waiting for precisely that cue, the surrounding robot masters were bombarded with ice, scissor blades, explosives, fire, blobs of oil (some of which had been lit on fire), glowing energy arrows, and electricity.

"Mind if we cut in?" a voice drew the eyes of the allied group skyward.

"One miracle, coming right up!" declared Elec Man riding upon an Item-2 jet as he charged up for another shot of his Thunder Beam. Behind him, all on Item-2 jets, came Cut Man wielding a Rolling Cutter in each hand, Fire Man continuing to pour on the flames of his Fire Storm, Ice Man targeting for another Ice Slasher, Bomb Man throwing Hyper Bombs like they were going out of style, Guts Man loosening up his massive arms, Oil Man striking a pose, and Time Man looking focused.

"So..." Knuckles addressed Dr. Light, "these robots friendly?"

"Yes!" Dr. Light replied enthusiastically. "Elec Man! You're a sight for sore eyes! How?"

"Dr. Lalinde put in the call after Mega Man and Mega Woman went through," Elec Man filled the doctor in as he landed, his brothers joining the rest of the forces in pressing back against the robot master army. "She was certain you'd need back-up, which seems to have been the right call. We followed Duo's trail to get here. How are Mega Man and Mega Woman doing?"

"Not well," Blues cut in. "Duo went in a while ago and we've gotten no sign since. Something's gone wrong." _'Just like last time,'_ he thought to himself.

"Well, you're the robot scientist, right?" Knuckles asked. "Me and Proto-Guy can get you in there and you should be able to wreck whatever the doctors have in the works, right?"

"I'm coming too," Shadow interjected. "In case the doctors have any nasty surprises." '_Not to mention if we save Sonic, he'll never live it down,'_ he added silently.

"Sounds like a plan," Elec Man agreed, turning to Knuckles. "Here, you can use my Item-2."

"Works for me," Blues agreed as he whistled for the trio of support units. "Dr. Light will take Rush and Shadow can ride Tango. Beat? Board."

As Rush and Tango turned into their normal jet modes, Knuckles and Shadow raised an eyebrow as Beat turned into something resembling Extreme Gear.

"Little something I picked up from your friends," Blues grinned at them. (24)

* * *

"I have the victory," Metal Sonic declared from where he had driven Bass into the wall during their battle. That 'cerebral download' of his apparently allowed him to copy the master weapons of the downed Paradox Masters. And Bass mused that they didn't hurt any less from him than they did from Mega Man. "And soon your knowledge and abilities."

"Yeah? You want my powers?" Bass grinned as he grasped Metal Sonic's arm and activated his Copy Chip. "Well now _I've_ got _yours_." (25)

"What?" Metal Sonic expressed confusion as Bass's colors shifted. That ability wasn't in his data banks.

"Dad upgraded the super adapter so I can use master weapons with it," Bass's grin widened as Metal Sonic tried to disengage and failed due to Bass's death grip on him. "And it looks like you've got _three_. Let's try the 'joint matrix' first."

The Burst Shield that Metal Sonic used as his joint offensive and defensive matrix flared from his opponent and blasted him back. He quickly righted himself and unleashed the Fire Tornado back at Bass.

"And here's the defensive one!" Bass laughed as he used the Black Shield to power through the flames and tackle Metal Sonic head-on. Eggman's dubiously loyal enforcer activated his own Burst Shield to throw his opponent off of him.

"And my personal favorite!" Bass proclaimed with glee, ignoring the damage he'd taken and charged at Metal Sonic in full V. Maximum Overdrive mode. "_Pure offense!_"

* * *

Rock, Roll, and Sonic rolled their collective eyes as the doctors began arguing with each other over apparently withheld details of their evil plan.

"Can either of you move?" Sonic asked hopefully.

"Nope," Rock replied.

"Me either," Roll agreed.

"Well, drat," Sonic sighed.

* * *

Blues finally accepted his helmet back from Dr. Light as they approached a thin area in the Wily Egg's armor roughly where his siblings' locator signals pointed to them being. He almost said something to his father, but the words died in his throat. Now wasn't the time. Besides, with the way the Loops supposedly worked, nothing he said to the man would mean anything until he was Awake to remember it.

He almost believed himself.

Knuckles led the way and punched through the battlestation's armor, with Blues right behind him, buster blazing. "Someone order an extra large beatdown for two, heavy on the boom?" the echidna cracked.

"Blues! Knuckles!" the red raider heard his siblings cheer from where they were imprisoned as he and the echidna attacked the doctors.

"And Shadow," Sonic could be heard lamenting good naturedly as the dark hedgehog took guard of Dr. Light as they went over to free the captured heroes. "Man, I am _never_ hearing the end of this."

"No, you aren't," Shadow's grin was audible as he and the doctor went to work on freeing the three.

"_No no no!_" Wily frantically interposed his saucer lid between himself and Blues's buster fire.

"To the Egg-Wily Machine X!" Eggman maneuvered his own personal craft away from Knuckles. "Hurr–_eeeeeek!_"

"I'll do better than that!" Wily declared as he pressed a button in his saucer. Near the ceiling of the chamber, a device whirred to life and began to take aim at the captive heroes.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 2%

"Damnit!" Hermes swore as he saw the device become active. "We were so focused on finding something Category 3 or worse that we overlooked the Category 4s the doctors brought with them!"

"What is it?" Hephaestus yelled back across the office as he began to analyze the code of the device. The moment it had activated, the success chance had hit 2% and stopped dropping. The number tickled the back of his awareness for some reason.

"It's Dr. Robotnik's Ultimate Annihilator modified for projectile assault!" Hermes shouted. "_It's a retcon-class weapon!_"

Hephaestus froze. Retcon-class weapons were perhaps the nastiest things mortals could get a hold of. They couldn't hit Yggdrasil's code directly; even the Anti-Monitor, arguably the biggest retcon-class threat in Yggdrasil's system, couldn't do that; but they could stop a target's code from running in the current reality and sometimes even wipe all traces of them from the reality that was running. For an active looper, it was only a bit more of an inconvenience than death was. Even damaged, Yggdrasil's built-in safeguards prevented such things from ever being worse than a high-tier category 4 threat, but with his Anchors not yet properly set in place, such an event was very high on the list of problems.

"TARTARUS!" Hermes swore. "He's going to fire on the captive Anchors! Yggdrasil's still locking out changes to the local reality and there's no one close or fast enough to stop it!"

Hephaestus noted that Blues had spotted the weapon and was moving to intercept. Too bad him being hit would be no different than his siblings being hit at this stage. Unless...

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 2%

It dawned on him why the success chance had stopped dropping and his fingers flew across his terminal as he slowed relative time in regards to himself to a crawl. He needed to do this at _exactly_ the right moment. Too early and he'd lose the tertiary candidate, whether or not his trick worked. Too late and the tertiary candidate would be erased before his gamble could work and the entire Loop would collapse.

* * *

Blues flew directly between the unknown weapon and his family and raised his shield right as it fired.

* * *

Hephaestus pressed Enter. (26)

* * *

Reality itself _lurched_ and both Rock and Roll stumbled under a sudden increase to an invisible burden they hadn't noticed before. Both of their eyes widened with unspoken alarm and they turned to look for their elder brother.

"BLUES!"

* * *

"The volt was that?" Elec Man blinked in confusion. The battle had paused after space itself had jolted like the Enterprise under enemy fire.

"Don't know," the squirrel that had introduced herself as Sally told him as the opposing army of robot masters began attacking again, "and we're a little too busy to go and find out."

"Right," Elec Man agreed as he unleashed his Thunder Beam on Cold Man and a few surrounding foes.

* * *

***(Eiken commercial by WyldeHorse)****

A beautiful, scantily-clad blond woman stands on a street, with grey-toned buildings to either side while similarly grey-toned people performing various monotonous actions in the background.

"Is the cycling of the multiverse getting a bit repetitive? Are your loops full of stale old enemies and boring rivalries? Could you use something different in your endlessly repeating existence? Well, have I got something new for all of you! I'm Aphrodite, Yggdrasil Admin, and I have a completely different sort of loop for you!"

Aphrodite walks down a street, buildings and people gaining color and vigor as she does, and a high school comes into view. She stops in front of the front gates.

"In the loops set in Eiken, you don't have to worry! There aren't any villains here to ruin your day! You can set down your weapons, ease up on the magic, and just relax! In fact, to help you relax, this loop is limited- you won't have to worry about any fighting, because anything foreign to the loop is disabled! So just sit back, relax, and enjoy a quiet Loop here!"

The gate opens up, and Aphrodite enters, showing the front yard to be full of attractive young men and very, very busty young women in all sorts of poses and activities. The view pauses for a long moment on a group of the young women playing volleyball to watch the bouncing occurring.

"In fact, it's more than just a chance to relax- it's a chance to have a bit of fun, too. There are all these lovely young ladies and gentlemen, just waiting to make your acquaintance! They'd love nothing more than to get to know you, and to help out with that, there's openings in clubs to help you fit right in. Don't worry- they'll all love to have you!"

She finally next to a window, and the view pans so the window fills the whole screen, showing a classroom full of even more impossibly chest-heavy young women, these all posing in front of the camera.

Aphrodite's voice is heard one last time, this time very softly and speaking very very quickly. "Yggdrasil is not repeat not liable for any back pain, paranoia or inappropriate groping or other adult-rated activities or psychological damages appertaining thereunto that occur in loops that take place in Eiken!"

****(End Commercial)****

Brynhildr turned to her fellow valkyries. "Sword or spear?" Honestly, did Aphrodite not have any actual _work_ to do? (27)

"Depends, do we want to gut her or roast her on a spit?" Herfjötur glared at the latest piece of garbage Hephaestus's bitch of a wife had sent over the office mail accounts that they'd been forced to at least listen to. This would _not_ go unpunished.

"Both of them are too quick. I vote we chuck her in Valhalla's drunk tank overnight. And leave her for a few weeks," Eir carefully tallied the items against the Olympian love goddess for later retribution. Heck, with this obscene misuse of office resources they could probably get Tyr to put some pressure on Zeus to allow something really creative. The head Olympian's skill for throwing others under metaphorical buses to save his own skin might actually prove useful for once.

* * *

"CHAOS IMPACT!" Shadow yelled as he unleashed his power on the unknown weapon, crushing it utterly. The sudden inexplicable surge of panic he'd gotten right after the doctors revealed the thing subsided as he did. He'd been too late to keep it from firing initially, but the thing certainly wasn't going to get a second.

He'd seen Blues move to intercept the shot and hoped he was alright. Especially after reality shook like that. That couldn't be a good sign for the state of the Loop.

Further musings were cut off as he Chaos Controlled over to help Knuckles with the Egg-Wily Machine X.

* * *

"_Launch already!_" the two doctors yelled at each other from their separate cockpits behind each eye of their machine as they frantically finished rebooting their war machine.

The Egg-Wily Machine X rocked under the missile assault the dark hedgehog launched from the weapon he's suddenly gotten from... somewhere before he dismissed it and launched a sphere of pure chaos energy at them.

"CHAOS BALL!"

The doctors began arguing over how much chaos energy they should be drawing from the genesis chamber to power the machine before it disrupted the charging Super Genesis Wave, when Knuckles landed directly on the machine. Apparently he'd given up his Item-2 ride to Shadow at some point so he could get up close and personal while the dark hedgehog supported from range.

"You two ready to throw in the towel, or do I have to come in there and make you?" the guardian of the floating island cocked his fist back threateningly.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Wily cackled as he pressed a button on his console, "but we're fresh out of towels! How about fifty thousand volts of protective shielding?!"

Wily bilinked and pressed the button again when nothing happened.

**Told you so.**

"Ivo..." Dr. Wily began dangerously. "Why are my defenses offline?"

"Nothing personal, Albert," Dr. Eggman grinned from his cockpit as he operated his own console. "But I'm afraid you were starting to hold back the operation. He's all yours Knuckles. As for you, Shadow, how about a face full of death las–eh?"

* * *

Metal Sonic had proved too fast to catch with the V Maximum Overdrive, so Bass had instead redirected his charge upwards. At the energy refractor his father had installed in the chamber's ceiling. The results didn't disappoint.

Energy beams fell thick and fast around the chamber, hitting nearly everything not directly under the center of the device like Bass himself was. Except Metal Sonic seemed to be avoiding the worst of it.

When the rain began to let up, the mechanical hedgehog swerved sharply towards his hovering opponent and blasted him with one of the Paradox Masters' ranged weapons and then tried to tackle him to the ground. Bass responded with a bicycle kick that launched his opponent halfway across the room before he managed to arrest his momentum in midair.

"Futile," Metal Sonic declared. "Your skill with my abilities is lacking."

"Well," Bass said, switching to the brand new Paper Folding weapon he'd gotten from his dad's hobby robot, "let's try a Wily original then!"

Metal Sonic raised his Black Shield as the parchment-like weapon snaked its way towards him.

_'Just as planned,'_ Bass smirked as the weapon wrapped his foe up, shield and all, with a nice firm tether to boot. Hefting, Bass swung the wrapped-up robot and shield towards the ground, hitting just after Metal Sonic dropped the Black Shield in hopes of escaping.

And then the wrappings burst in a flash of energy as Metal Sonic rose high out of the impact site on his own V Maximum Overdrive aura and dove down towards Bass. The son of Wily grunted from impact as he was driven towards the ground, through a metal crate, and began to carve a furrow in the floor.

Bass grunted as his systems blared damage reports before his hand reflexively grabbed something right as Metal Sonic began to run out of steam. Sparing a glance at the object, and some mild surprise that Ro–

_I think I'm in lo..._

–ll had somehow dropped her attack broom, Bass performed an acrobatic recovery as he and his foe tumbled across the floor and swung the weapon into Metal Sonic's head with all his might. Metal Sonic careened even faster across the floor and impacted the wall hard enough to crack it.

The robotic hedgehog managed to lift his head just in time to see Bass's foot approaching before it crashed into, and through, his torso.

* * *

In another chamber of the Wily Egg, a capsule lit up.

UPLOADING...

UNAUTHORIZED DATA DETECTED.

PURGING UNAUTHORIZED DATA AS PER EGGMAN PROTOCOL.

DATA PURGE CANCELED AS PER UPDATED WILY PROTOCOL.

METAL SONIC UPLOAD COMPLETE.

* * *

"Heh," Bass chuckled as he stood over the remains of his opponent. He disengaged from Treble and found he was damaged enough to need to lean on the canine for support. "Thanks Treble."

The wolf robot barked sympathetically as a few of his own systems sparked from damage. Bass trusted few things in life, but Treble was unquestionably at the top of that short list.

"Yeah, we're gonna need some decent repair after all this boy," Bass patted his companion and examined the broom weapon he still held. He'd never ridicule Roll's choice of weapon again. Not after getting smacked around like that earlier, and certainly not after seeing what it let him do to his latest adversary. She was... quite the woman. "Heh. I think I'm in–"

_I think I'm in love..._

Bass clutched his head as he collapsed under the sudden onslaught of memories, Treble barking furiously in worry.

* * *

Rush and Tango brought a worried Light family, along with Sonic, down to the floor of the chamber just as Beat finished setting down an unconscious Blues.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Roll asked worriedly as her father examined the red raider.

"I think so," Dr. Light worried. "His systems look fine, but I have no idea what he was hit with in the first place."

"Sonic?" Rock turned to the blue blur. "Do you...?"

"Rock, buddy," Sonic informed the blue bomber gravely, "your brother just blocked what looked like the Ultimate Annihilator in laser mode. I've been on the wrong end of that kind of device before and it ended those particular Loops _real_ fast. Your bro's lucky he still _exists_ in this iteration."

"I..." Dr. Light continued to look his eldest son over as best he could. "I don't know what to do. Even if we can get to the device before the doctors activate it, I have no way of being certain I could shut it down. And I think it may already be in the process of activating anyway..."

"Chill, doc," Sonic told him. "Even if we can't take the device out, I've got a sweet idea that'll take care of everything."

Dr. Light mulled those thoughts over before becoming all business. "I'll trust your judgement. Rock? Roll? I'm afraid I don't have any E-Tanks, but your super adapters with Rush and Tango should give you enough energy to continue fighting. I'll stay here and do what I can for Blues. You go with Sonic and save our worlds."

"Right," the Light twins replied as they began the process of combining with their support units.

* * *

Hephaestus continued to get his divine heart rate back under control as he slumped back in his chair. His gambit had worked. Barely, but it had worked.

PRIMARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE ROCK LIGHT SETTING AS JOINT ANCHOR IN DUAL ANCHOR CONFIGURATION FINALIZED.

SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE ROLL LIGHT SETTING AS JOINT ANCHOR IN DUAL ANCHOR CONFIGURATION FINALIZED.

TERTIARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE BLUES LIGHT DOWNGRADE TO STANDARD LOOPING STATUS SUCCESSFUL.

WARNING: DAMAGE TO HOME REALITY SETTINGS FOR LOOPER BLUES LIGHT. LOOPER MAY NOT LOAD IN CORRECT LOCATION.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 80%

"I can't believe what I just saw happen," Hermes stared at him in awe. "You waited until the retcon effect started to erase his presence from the current iteration, and then you initiated your 'one-time downgrade to normal looper' so that Yggdrasil would adjust his code before it finished, essentially _re-loading him into the Loop before he was completely removed from it_. And even if that didn't work, upgrading Roll to joint Anchor status with her brother and adjusting them to a standard dual Anchor configuration pretty much saved the whole attempt."

"_I_ can't believe it and I _coded_ it," Hephaestus moaned. "I hope that's the last big curve ball this activation attempt's going to throw at us, because I _surely_ just went over my miracle quota."

* * *

"_You_ sabotaged _me?!_" Eggman yelled at the other cockpit as Knuckles began to crack the armor with his punches.

"Off course, Ivo," Wily replied as he ignored Knuckles's pounding on the exterior and the cracking of the armor and fiddled with some wiring. "Now check your readout while I exchange these relays and fix the confusion in the 'Battle' and 'Chase' programs."

Eggman did so, and was alarmed at what he saw. "YOU PUT THE ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR IN MY COCKPIT?!"

"Yes," Wily declared as he finished up. "I am not as weak as you think Ivo. I tolerated Thomas because while he has stolen adulation, credit, and respect due me, he has never once outright betrayed me. Not like you. Goodbye my friend."

Eggman was silent for a moment, and then he began to laugh. He'd finally lost the game. The game he played with every single commander in his Eggman army back home. The game of deceit and betrayal that kept maintaining his rule over the parts of the world he controlled interesting. And he'd lost to Albert, the first genuine peer he'd ever found. The sole man who could match and understand his genius.

His one true equal.

_'How appropriate!'_ Eggman continued to roar with laughter as the energy of the Ultimate Annihilator permeated his half of the cockpit. _'I finally lose the game to my only real frie–'_

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 60%

"You were saying?"

Hephaestus swoaned (28) as he saw what his companion was talking about.

* * *

Orbot and Cubot stared in total silence at the spot where Eggman had just... been erased from existence. Even Knuckles and Shadow had stopped trying to attack the war machine in shock.

"Boss..." Orbot lamented.

"Oh, ain't we in trouble now!" Cubot managed to drawl in panic. "These here systems need two operators, don't they?"

"Oh my, yes!" Orbot agreed. "The Egg-Wily Machine X cannot function at full capacity without both doctors!"

"Bad luck for you, Wily," Knuckles growled as he prepared to crack open the machine's cranium armor liek an eggshell.

"Ah, but I prepared for everything!" Wily retorted. "Backup driver teleport system engaged. Full system restore – _NOW!_"

The eyes of the machine flashed blue while the rest of it flared with a bright yellow energy that threw Knuckles off towards Shadow and the Item-2 jet he currently rode.

"Damni–what?" Shadow began to curse, only to cut himself off in shock at what he saw in the cockpits. Dr. Wily was in one like before, but in the other...

"Boss?" Orbot questioned in surprise.

"We thoughtcha was erased or somethin'!" Cubot added.

...was Dr. Eggman. Like nothing had happened.

"Hohohohoho!" the new Eggman laughed. "Paradox Eggman reporting for duty Albert!"

"Great to have you, Ivo!" Wily replied cheerfully, seeming to be completely unaffected by what he'd just done. "Shall we?"

"Of course! Self-repair systems running at 251%!" Paradox Eggman cheered. "We're invincible!"

"SUPER GENESIS WAVE ACTIVATED" a computerized voice echoed across the room.

"Hah!" Wily exulted. "Checkmate!"

* * *

WARNING: EVENT DESIGNATED 'SUPER GENESIS WAVE' GENERATED BY LOCAL ARTIFACTS DESIGNATED 'CHAOS EMERALDS' CORRUPTED BY INTERACTION WITH SKAIA PROTOCOL.

CATEGORY 1 EVENT COMPARISON: 7% MATCH.

TOTAL CATEGORY 1 EVENT MATCH WITH SKAIA: 27%

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 50%

* * *

Duo clenched the cracked and battered control eye of the Chaos Devil in his giant hand as his opponent reformed into what Duo could tell was his untainted body. He'd have loved to meet and greet what was clearly a guardian of purity like himself, but he could feel something very wring happening.

He would have rushed to help, but his place was administering Justice. Putting a reality in the process of breaking back together was both outside his job description and beyond his abilities.

* * *

"Damnit!" Hephaestus swore as he and Hermes were again denied from making changes to the Loop. Skaia's influence on the Super Genesis Wave was causing it to react poorly to the established code in the branches. Data corruption in the two Loops was already happening and if this wasn't stopped, they could lose _both_ of them. "There's a category 2 event _in progress_ and Yggdrasil still won't give us the access needed to stop it!"

Hermes was quiet for a moment. "What if we used the loopers?"

The forge god turned to look at his companion for this endeavor.

"Yggdrasil might not be letting _us_ do anything," the god of travel continued as his fingers flew across his terminal, "but _they_ don't have any such restrictions."

* * *

_Use the Time Stones. All of them. Full power._

Silver started in confusion as the thought crossed his mind. Hermes had warned him not to use the full power Time Stones in the Loops. Heck, the god of travel had put the limiters preventing full power use on the things himself to prevent anyone from using them. So why–

_Limiters temporarily off. Super Genesis Wave tainted. Will Crash both Loops if not stopped. Halt the progression of time for the machine and event. Buy Sonic and the others the time they need to stop it. NOW._

"Time Man!" Silver called out to the allied robot master, a supreme sense of urgency overtaking him as his mind formed a plan of action. "I need you to use your Time Slow again!"

"Very well," the robot agreed, not entirely sure why the hedgehog was asking, but complying anyway.

Silver closed his eyes and felt the effects of the robot's weapon with his mind, studying it in an instant and using it as a reminder and guide for how to perform Chronos Control to achieve the same effect. How it affected what the robot master wanted to affect while leaving the rest untouched. Pulling the power of the Time Stones into himself, Silver felt his body enter its super form and began to mold it and directed the effect at the Wily Egg and the terrible machine it was activating. The device's progress would be slowed to the barest of crawls for as long as he could manage it.

"CHRONOS CONTROL!"

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 70%

* * *

The doctors ignored the way that reality crackled ominously as their device activated in their enthusiasm to destroy their opponents. Nor did they particularly take note when the progress of their device slowed to a near halt.

They did, however, notice when a golden-yellow glowing ball struck their machine across the jaw like a left cross from a giant prize fighter. And the following blast of golden energy that came from the opposite side to similar effect. Nor did they miss the silvery-gray uppercut that rattled the systems and nearly knocked them out of their chairs.

"Okay you two," a silvery-gray and white glowing Roll in her super adapter armor told her golden-yellow and white super adapter brother and their golden-yellow hedgehog friend, "I'll admit this is pretty cool."

"Told you sis," Super Mega Man grinned at Super Mega Woman.

"Knux, Shadow?" Super Sonic told the other two allies in the chamber. "Thanks for the cover. Go help Dr. Light with Blues. We've got these two."

"S-super forms?" Paradox Eggman stuttered weakly. "They're _all_ in super forms..."

"_That's __**NOT**_ _fair!_" yelled Wily in a tantrum.

"FIRE EVERYTHING! LAUNCH IT ALL!" one of the doctors screamed as the Egg-Wily Machine X opened up on its three opponents and let loose with a truly obscene amount of bombs, missiles, and lasers.

* * *

"Lord Hephaestus?" the voice of Eir came over the intercom. "You have a visitor. Says it's urgent."

Hephaestus blinked and stood up to head out into the office. Hermes, letting his curiosity het the better of him, and not seeing how he could help further at the moment, double-checked to make sure his terminal was recording the fight and followed.

"Very well, what is so damned urgent it couldn't wai–" Hephaestus started, only to cut off as he saw his visitor. Even though he was a volcano god, the expression that overtook his face still caused the temperature in the outer office to drop several degrees. "...Hello father."

"Hmph," Zeus snorted. "Some greeting. And after everything I've been through for you."

* * *

"Blast it, Beat!" Dr. Light glared at the bird that hovered protectively over his son from the alcove where he and Knuckles had carried the red robot. Shadow had said he wanted to check something and gone elsewhere. But Beat was refusing to let the doctor examine Blues's systems. "Let me help him!"

For a moment, Dr. Light regretted programming his children's support units for primary loyalty to them. But then he shook it off. That kind of thinking is what estranged him from his eldest son in the first place.

* * *

"Super shield is holding!" Wily yelled as Super Sonic bombarded the chaos energy fueled barrier protecting them. "Barely!"

A shot from Super Mega Man that blazed like a miniature sun crashed into the shield and caused it to buckle. Another from Super Mega Woman shattered it entirely.

"AHH!" Paradox Eggman panicked. "I hate that robot!"

"System overload!" Wily screamed as Super Sonic carved two new holes in the war machine now that the defenses were down. "Damnit! Do something about that hedgehog!"

"I'm _trying_!" Paradox Eggman shouted back. "Why don't you do something about your own nemeses?!"

"Fun as this is," the chaos-empowered hedgehog told his companions, "we need to wrap it up. No idea how long the time freeze on the genesis wave device will hold up and that thing of the doctors is regenerating as fast as we can damage it."

"No worries," the golden Rock grinned. "I remember what we did last time."

"...?" the silver Roll looked at the two curiously.

"Oh, don't you _dare_...!" Paradox Eggman threatened as he saw what Super Sonic and Super Mega Man were doing.

"No worries, Ivo," Wily said as he frantically entered something on his control panel. "I've got just the thing..."

Super Mega Man finished charging his arm cannon as Super Sonic revved up his Super Spin Dash on the end of the barrel. The two attacks combined in a blast that lit up the chamber and dwarfed the intended target. The shot struck the body of the Egg-Wily machine head on and detonated beautifully, flinging pieces of it all over.

But the expected return of Super Sonic from the smoke cloud didn't happen, and the two super form robots became concerned.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" came the laughter of Wily and Paradox Eggman from the still-intact head of their joint war machine.

"A noble effort, all of you!" laughed Wily.

"But thanks to Albert, all for nothing!" Paradox Eggman guffawed.

"Presenting!" Wily gestured grandly.

"The instrument of our ultimate victory!" declared Paradox Eggman.

"The greatest of the Eggman-Wily roboticized masters!" Wily cheered.

"The pinnacle of the EWN series!" Paradox Eggman continued for him with manic fervor.

"Specially reserved as EWN-011!" they both proclaimed together.

The smoke parted, and the chaos-empowered robots saw what the doctors were referring to.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 20%

* * *

"SUPER SONIC MAN!"

* * *

"Get to the point, father," Hephaestus cut off the Lord of Olympus from his 'beleaguered official' tirade.

"No respect," Zeus shook his head mournfully. "How did I ever raise such an ungrateful child?"

_'You didn't,'_ or some variation thereof went through the minds of pretty much everyone else in the room. But no one voiced it in the interests of resolving this visit as quickly as possible.

"Oh, very well," Zeus finally relented under the collective gazes of everyone and produced a document. "Here. The Oversight Council's approval for necessary alterations to your branch, with authorization password to let Yggdrasil know it's been approved."

Hephaestus wordlessly reached for the document only for Zeus to pull it back.

"Of course, I'm sure you understand that rushing an audit like I just did is no small favor," the politically savvy storm god looked smug and expectant.

_'You owe him the damn _Olympian throne _several times over, you pompous disgrace,'_ Hermes twitched from behind his friend.

* * *

"Roll! You handle the doctors!" Super Mega Man yelled to his sister as he charged at Super Sonic Man. He had no idea how Wily had managed to roboticize Sonic in super mode, but this wasn't the time to rail at the universe for being unfair.

* * *

Dr. Light ignored the way Knuckles was cursing at the turn of events as he wracked his mind for a way to help his son. After a moment, he hit upon an idea. The chances of it working were less than he'd like, but the odds of making Blues worse were non-existent.

"Beat," he addressed the bird. "I need you to initiate your super adapter mode for Blues. He's weak right now and it may give him just enough energy to bring him out of danger."

The mechanical bird took a moment to process that before initiating the process.

* * *

Super Mega Woman renewed her assault on the remnants of the Egg-Wily Machine X while her brother and Super Sonic Man clashed with enough force to shake the room.

The restored shields of the machine cracked under the assault, but held firm.

"HAHAHAHA!" Paradox Eggman laughed.

"We should probably thank you," Wily grinned. "With a smaller craft to distribute chaos energy across, our defenses regenerate even faster than before!"

Roll swore internally as she dodged a retaliatory laser burst. Apparently the good news was that the machine now had fewer weapons to fire at her. But as things went, a stalemate was not beneficial to her right now.

* * *

Super Mega Man fired his buster repeatedly at Super Sonic Man, but the super form robot was simply too fast to hit with every one and the near-invincibility allowed him to shrug off the ones that did hit with little problem. The same near-invulnerability was allowing Rock as Super Mega Man to similarly shrug off the blows his opponent landed.

However, he was quickly realizing what 'nearly invulnerable' actually meant. The energy of the temporary super form was finite, and every blow took away from the gradually depleting pool he had left. And Super Sonic Man was landing more blows than he was.

And then it happened. Mega Man's pool ran out first and he dropped to his normal super adapter state. The surprise allowed Super Sonic Man to land another blow that drove him to the floor.

_'That wasn't nearly as hard as it could have been,'_ Rock thought to himself as the super roboticized master alighted a short ways away and began walking forward purposefully. _'And he's hesitating. Either the doctors programmed Super Sonic Man to rub it in, or Sonic's fighting it.'_

Rock decided to bet on the latter and disengaged Rush, thankful the after effects of the transformation having left him with full strength.

"Go find dad, boy," he ordered his canine companion. Rush whined in protest, but still left. The super adapter had many strengths, but nowhere near enough to bridge the current gap between him and his opponent. Right now, he needed the extra maneuverability and access to his master weapons. Raw power wasn't going to cut it. Tactics and flexibility would have to pick up the slack.

* * *

Bass groaned as his memories finished realigning themselves. He recalled his life as Dr. Wily's loyal son, and also one where he'd fallen for his rival's sister. In that other life, he'd slowly begun to question his father's intentions as the man's plans began to exclude Bass more and more, until life fighting alongside his one time foes against his father was more appealing than staying loyal.

"Damnit, pops..." He groaned from where Treble supported him. At least his faithful support unit hadn't changed. Honestly, making the robot wolf loyal to Bass above even himself hadn't been one of Wily's smarter moves. But it was also the one that had made Bass question his decision to abandon his father's cause the most. Why would a man as evil as others say put so much trust in the one he'd called his son? Why not make Bass another in his line of Mega Man Killers? Why make Bass so unique out of his creations, not just in body but in mind as well?

And why did his 'father' feel the need to rewrite his past after giving him his own Will?

"Interesting..." a new voice cut into his thoughts. Treble growled at the newcomer and Bass looked up to see a black and red hedgehog similar to Sonic. Shadow if he recalled correctly. The so-called 'ultimate lifeform'. "What have we here?"

* * *

"You realize you have lost," Super Sonic Man declared. "Surrender and your end will be painle–"

Rock cut the super form robot off with a Sharp Knuckle uppercut, followed by a Mighty Blow to the abdomen. He moved into the Electric Blade, the Trick Sword, and then the Piko Hammer not letting up for a moment. He followed with a point-blank Shockwave Boomer, then the Rabbot Laser, the Acoustic Blaster, and finally planted a Stealth Mine on the robot's chest.

That was when Super Sonic Man managed to disengage. He fired off an Omochao and then activated Ray Glide and took to the air. Super Sonic Man ignored the attacking Omochao drone and came after him. Rock switched to the Rapid Stinger and fired repeatedly as he fell downwards towards his opponent coming straight up. The super form roboticized master was almost on him when the Stealth Mine he'd ignored went off. Rock angled himself and switched to the Chroma Camo and continued his fall towards his now confused opponent.

The blue bomber latched onto Super Sonic Man's back unseen and before the robot knew what was happening, he'd been hit with the Black Wave. Rock followed with the Psycho Burst and the Chaos Cannon to ensure immobilization, and then began firing the Omega Gatling as they fell together, continuing to fire until they hit the ground with his opponent under him.

Rock vaulted off of Super Sonic Man, turned, and fired the Hydrokinesis weapon in mid-air. He followed with the Fire Tornado to convert the lingering moisture to steam and obscure his opponent's vision and then unleashed the Tail Wind. Super Sonic Man braced against the impact, and then his form flickered.

_'Yes!'_ the robot son of Light cheered mentally as his opponent's super form ran out and he became simply Sonic Man and was blown off his feet. Rock switched back to his Mega Buster and began charging up a Sonic Shot to restore the blue blur to normal. He took aim and fired as the Tail Wind died out.

Sonic Man hit the wall of the chamber feet first a moment before the Sonic Shot impacted. And when it did, he'd already moved out of the way.

_'Scrap,'_ Rock swore to himself.

* * *

In the currently empty office, the success chance display ticked downwards, its drop rate mirroring the time left on Roll's super form.

* * *

"How about this, father?" Hephaestus interrupted the current head of the Olympian pantheon. "If you hand the file over and leave right now without coming back then I'll happily ignore mother's latest request indefinitely."

Zeus quirked an eyebrow in challenge. "What could she have possibly asked for that I would agree to this?"

Hephaestus gestured for Zeus to bend an ear so he could relay this information privately and began whispering the nature of the request to the divine politician.

Hermes, who had an eavesdropping spell active, winced in masculine sympathy as he heard what it was. (29)

Zeus's eyes widened and all of a sudden he couldn't hand the file over fast enough. "Wellthatsoundsfineson!Hereyougo!Bestofluck!"

And with that, the Lord of Olympus beat as hasty a retreat as he could.

* * *

Super Mega Woman sent a pair of Rocket Claws at the flying head of the Egg-Wily Machine X, only for them to be deflected by the shield.

* * *

Blues groaned as he sat up.

"Careful so–Blues," he heard Dr. Light worry. "You were hit with a rather formidable weapon. I'm not entirely sure what all it did to you."

That was right. He'd moved to block that weapon from firing on his siblings... And even though he'd blocked with his shield, it still felt like he'd been taken apart and put back together. At the atomic level. Simultaneously. While able to feel every excruciating step of the process. And–

Blues blinked and looked himself over. Why was he in super adapter mode?

* * *

Rock was arguably having an even harder time now. The end of the super form had dropped Sonic Man's power considerably, but it seemed whatever reluctance he'd had to go all-out was similarly gone.

Every shot he was firing was being dodged with Sonic's characteristic speed and ability. All he needed was for the hedgehog to hold still for a few moments so he could hit him with a Sonic Shot, but that was easier said than done.

Thinking through his options furiously as he did his level best to avoid retaliation, he nearly passed over the one weapon he hadn't tried. Again. But he paused mentally for a moment. Maybe that was just what he needed. The seemingly ridiculous weapon had already pulled him out of one jam, so why not another?

Mega Man calmed himself as he turned indigo and purple with white trim and felt the tranquil spiritual echo of Big. The gentle giant who would brave any hardship for a friend in need, without ever thinking twice. Focusing his senses, he waited for the right moment.

_'Now!'_ Rock cast the Fishing Rod's line and lassoed Sonic Man's legs, causing him to trip and fall.

And with that, the only thing left to do was charge up and restore his ally. Then he could see what he could do to help his sister.

* * *

Sonic rubbed his head as he came back to himself, idly noting Rock pick up the weapon orb he'd dropped out of the corner of his eye. Wow had that been a trip. He'd managed to fight the programming while the super form lasted, but for the most part that had been like watching someone else drive his body. While half asleep and barely aware of what said someone else was doing.

"You okay?" Rock asked him.

"Yeah," Sonic told him, "just remembering why I _hate_ being roboticized. First time it's happened while I was Super though. Anyway, how's your sister doing?"

"Still in super mode," Rock told him as they both looked upwards towards the fight, "but it looks like she's in a stalemate with their shield. She hasn't taken any hits, so she's got some energy left but no idea how much."

"Right," Sonic nodded. "Make this quick then. I've spent a bunch of Loops working on something to get through chaos energy and now looks like as good a time as any to try it out, so tell your sister to lure them a bit lower and get ready to throw me."

"Throw you?" Rock puzzled, turning to Sonic, only for what he was about to ask to terminate in his vocal processor. Sonic was turning into a were... something. _'Were-hedgehog? Does that count if he starts as one?'_

"Ready?" Sonic asked in a deep, gravely voice. He'd lost count of how many Loops it had taken him to figure out how to hold on to Dark Gaia's energy so the beast didn't suck it out of him. Or knew he still had it so it would continue trying. And many more to work out the technique he was about to try. He'd been saving it for when it would get the best reaction from Eggman – something worthy of the album he'd been putting together – but it looked like it was needed now.

"Just a moment," Rock told him and radioed Roll the message.

* * *

Roll got the message and dove towards the floor.

"Running already?" Paradox Eggman laughed behind her.

"But this dance is just getting started!" Wily cackled as he commanded the machine after her.

She saw her brother and... was that Sonic? The currently beastial hedgehog gave her a grin and stretched his arm towards her. Super Mega Woman caught it out of reflex, and began to swing around. Sonic's arm acted like a whip and she cracked it straight at the doctors.

"Hey docs!" Sonic the Werehog growled as his hands glowed with dark energy, the antithesis of what the Chaos Emeralds produced. "_Heads up!_" Both hands clenched together as they hit the shield, and sent a dark energy spike right through it and into the systems, causing them to spark and short all across the board.

* * *

Silver strained to keep his technique up for just a little longer, but he was at his end. He was too far out of practice and had used too much to keep the technique going at the level he needed. His super form gave out, and with it his command over the full power of the Time Stones.

* * *

"Not bad," Rock allowed, observing the way the remains of the craft fell as his sister floated down towards him.

"Yeah," Sonic declared as he landed nearby, "your sister has a good throwing arm."

"Thanks you two, I–" Roll started when she was cut off by the renewal of reality's ominous crackling as the faulty super genesis wave started up again.

"Looks like we're out of time," Sonic observed. "Roll, you're the only one with any chaos energy left, so you'll have to use Chaos Control to reverse this."

"But," Super Mega Woman's eyes widened, "I don't know _how_! I've never done this before!"

"Don't worry sis," Rock told her as he used one of his stored utility weapons to create a pair of Item-1 platforms for himself and Sonic to float up next to his sister. "We both have. We'll guide you through it."

* * *

"Looks like this is pretty dang generous," Hephaestus mused as he looked the approval over. "I know I wouldn't be allowed some of this leeway under ordinary circumstances."

"I'm still–" Hermes stopped as he saw what the terminals were displaying. "_Holy_! What did we _miss?!_"

"Too much," Hephaestus declared as he practically leapt into his seat and entered the approval code as fast as divinely possible. Hephaestus began typing away at his terminal furiously. However poorly things had gone up to this point, this was an opportunity not to be missed. Roll was beginning the to locally load the restoration mode of Chaos Control, and he'd never be allowed to do what he was about to try under normal circumstances. As much as he hated to admit it, his father had come through in the nick of time on this. Not that the man would actually care about that beyond what he would be owed in return.

UNIVERSAL RESTORATION PROTOCOL SUBSET 'MARVEL' LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

UNIVERSAL RESTORATION PROTOCOL SUBSET 'DC' LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SUBROUTINE OF 'KEY/LOCK' SYSTEM LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

"Geez," Hermes observed as Hephaestus attempted to link every known restoration protocol to the one the Anchors were attempting. "Overkill much?"

"With the state this branch is in?" Hephaestus retorted absently. "I'm not sure it'll be enough."

* * *

Wily was in shock. He'd lost. Again.

**You shouldn't stand for this.**

All that preparations he'd made. All the mysterious foreknowledge he'd acted on. He'd countered and beguiled his opponents at every turn and he'd still lost in the end.

**They deserve to die.**

This was it, wasn't it? Thomas was the superior scientist with the superior creations. He'd given it everything he'd had and his old friend's robots had come out on top again.

**No, they deserve to be erased.**

If only Ivo hadn't...

**Ivo was right about one thing in the original run.**

Hmmm? A memory of Ivo? Of what might have been?

**If you can't have the universe **_**your**_ **way, why should **_**they**_ **have it **_**at all?**_

Wily began cackling. Yes. One last push. Play every card he had left. Make them pay.

**Make **_**everything**_ **pay.**

* * *

Reality crackled dangerously around them as Rock and Sonic guided Roll in super form through the process.

"Feel it," Rock told her, transmitting memories of when he'd done this himself to aid her. "The energy had purpose. Intent."

"It _wants_ to set things right," Sonic continued. "But it needs you to let it."

"Focus," Rock's calm voice helped everything else to fall away except the goal.

"Aim it at the junction between our realities," Sonic urged. "We've only got one shot, so it'll have to be enough."

And throughout it all, she could feel other things joining with the energy. Many, many forces finding their way through the channel somehow. Each of them with the purpose of putting the universes to rights.

* * *

Hephaestus was so focused on what he was doing that he missed the development. But Hermes didn't. The advancing reality corruption was getting so bad that echoes of alternate events were popping up for instants all over the place. But even that couldn't hide the doctors' damaged craft rising back up and taking aim at the heroes about to restore reality.

_'Oh no you don't,'_ Hermes glared as his fingers flew over his portable terminal. What he was about to do was highly ill-advised, but hey. That's what tricksters like him did. Besides, there wasn't much he could do to make the situation _worse_.

He isolated one of the glitching defunct probability echoes and dragged it over to a particular individual.

* * *

Dr. Light watched as Blues sat up groggily, Rush helping him as best as the robo-canine could. When out of the corner of his eye, he saw the head of the Egg-Wily Machine X begin to rise up and charge its main laser cannon, the clear intent to fire on the ones trying to restore the two universes to their proper state.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

"Oh no..." he began, when a blur of shining bronze zoomed past him.

Turning around in confusion, he saw a distinct lack of his eldest son.

"Knuckles, where...?"

"Proto Man just... went super," Knuckles stared incredulously after the bronze form. "_Without_ the Chaos Emeralds..."

* * *

Blues had no idea where the sudden rush of energy came from, but he knew exactly what to do with it. The doctors were trying to interfere with his siblings' attempt to fix the damage they'd done to reality and he was going to stop them.

He activated his super adapter's blade more out of habit than anything, since it was most likely his shield that wou–

_Program Advance: LifeSrd3_

Blues had no idea where the ability came from, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He interposed his energized 'super form' between the remains of the Egg-Wily Machine X and his sister and swung his blade for all it was worth at the same time the war machine's laser cannon fired at full charge.

The energy wave that erupted from his blade parted the cannon's laser right down the middle and bisected the machine as well.

And then Super Proto Man's transformation gave out. Because it technically hadn't really been there in the first place.

* * *

Hermes stared. Sure, reality was glitching horribly so what he'd seen probably wasn't impossible for the time being, but the sheer _odds_ against a beneficial glitch hitting at that exact moment...

He looked calculatingly at his terminal. The only thing that could have arranged such a random-seeming event was Yggdrasil itself.

* * *

LOCAL RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'WORLD HEALING WAVE' LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

WISH PROTOCOL 'DRAGON BALLS' LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

(30)

* * *

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The orb of reality-restoring energy left Roll's hands and hit the rift at the center of the disturbance, and the bright warm energy of a genesis wave reversing itself washed over everyone and everything.

* * *

LINKED RESTORATION PROTOCOLS SUCCESSFUL.

ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED UNIVERSAL DATA CORRUPTION REVERSED.

BRANCH DESIGNATED 'SONIC' RESTORED TO FULL LOOP FUNCTIONALITY.

BRANCH DESIGNATED 'MEGA' ASSESSMENT:

SECTION 1 RESTORED TO PARTIAL LOOP FUNCTIONALITY

SECTION 2 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTION 1 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION 3 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTION 1 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

STABILITY OF SECTION 2 ADVISED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION 4 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTION 1 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION 5 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTION 4 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION 6 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTIONS 2 & 3 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION 7 CORRUPTION LEVELS REDUCED

STABILITY OF SECTIONS 2, 3, AND 6 REQUIRED FOR LINKED LOOP ACTIVATION ATTEMPTS

SECTION X PARTIALLY RECOVERED

Hephaestus breathed a sigh of relief as Hermes clapped him on the back. It was over. There was nothing worth mentioning between now and the end of the scenario that could possibly keep the Loop from stabilizing.

"Um..." came the voice of one of the nymphs. "Aren't they all supposed to be back in their home Loops right now?"

What?

Hephaestus blinked and grabbed for his terminal to examine what was happening. The reality-restoring powers of the Chaos Emeralds had worked as advertised, but everyone was still in the pocket Skaia Protocol/Special Zone reality instead of their home Loops.

SKAIA PROTOCOL PROPERTIES RENDERED INERT.

'SPECIAL ZONE' PROPERTIES RENDERED INERT.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: A8%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

WARNING: SCENARIO PARAMETERS HAVE CHANGED.

ALL PRIOR YGGDRASIL PREDICTIONS REGARDING SCENARIO RENDERED INVALID.

RECALCULATING...

_'No,'_ Hephaestus thought in horror as he typed several lines into his terminal. _'No no no nonoNO!'_

"What in Tartarus...?" Hermes stared in confusion.

PROJECTED UNIVERSAL DEGRADATION OF BRANCH DESIGNATED 'MEGA' IF ACTIVATION ATTEMPT IS UNSUCCESSFUL: TOTAL

"DAMNIT!" Hephaestus slammed his fists down on his terminal.

"What?" Hermes jumped. "What's going on?!"

"A virus slipped past the firewalls and infected the end of the scenario! The parameters are corrupted past this point!" Hephaestus panicked.

"_Yggdrasil's running the Loop blind!_"

* * *

1) I can't recall the title right now, but there was a Mega Man fanfic I read years ago that had a functionally insane Doc Robot as a recurring antagonist. And that characterization stuck with me so well that I have a hard time imagining him any other way.

2) Ship Teasing.

3) Because the Time Stones are supposed to grant control over time itself, and that's bad for the Loops right now. Silver's pretty much charged with making sure no one uses the things to crash (note the lower-case) the Sonicverse.

4) A lot of Charmy's Loop abilities seem to be psychosomatic. He has to dress the part to access them.

5) Steeerike!

6) "GET OVER HERE!"

7) I'm quoting some fanfic (I forget the name, which seems to be a recurring thing for me) where Rock went to a mirror universe and evil!Auto said more-or-less this exact quote when he was about to blow himself up in order to take the heroes with him.

And, yes, the Skaia/Zone fusion has caused the paradox clones from Homestuck to instead manifest as robot clones.

8) Omega finds destruction to be beautiful, as well as things that cause destruction. The more, the better. Blaze is an extremely powerful pyrokinetic. So Omega has something of a crush on her.

9) Yeah, this isn't encouraging...

10) This scene takes up exactly four panels in the comic, and the conversation here mirrors it word-for-word. I timed how long it took me to read the dialogue out loud, and then added almost ten seconds as a margin of error because I read fast. The conclusion? Dr. Light managed to go from scavenged robot master parts to firing a fully functioning Mega Buster _in less than half a minute_. In the middle of a war zone. While holding this exact conversation.

Angus Macgyver _wishes_ he was this good.

11) I've taken a few liberties with the scene due to changes in events, but this is pretty much how it goes in _Worlds Collide_ after Eggman tosses Dr. Light out of the Wily Egg (sans Paradox robo-clone) just like in the earlier scene.

12) Show of hands. How many of you can't get this image out of your head now?

13) Doc Robot's being vewwy, vewwy quiet.

14) In the baseline, Tails accompanied Sonic and Mega Man and is the one who ends up taking the misfired Ballade Cracker. To the face. (He lives though)

15) *Gapes* Dude! WTF?!

16) I don't know why, but the Mighty Mouse theme song suddenly started blaring in my head right about this point.

17) A full set of Chaos Emeralds doesn't always play well with another. It's usually not universe-breaking, but hey, Chaos.

18) Duo is what's known as 'Loop Aware'. He doesn't recall other Loops, but his connections to the fabric of reality allow him to know that the Loops are, in fact, happening. Unlike some other Loop Aware entities, he doesn't consider it his job to try and fix things or enforce baseline events.

19) The good news is that Waltz is the only known entity in the multiverse that can take advantage of this unique and improbable convergence of circumstances.

20) Haruno Sakura of course, trope namer for Sakura Syndrome.

21) Not of Wales.

22) Not my original idea. Honestly, considering the 'rock-paper-scissors' nature of the Mega Man games, it's a wonder it took as long as it did for a paper-themed robot master to be created in official media.

23) Ending tally: Lots of posturing, rubbing the heroes faces in their supposed failure, mutual sniping between the no-longer-friends, normal genesis wave merely 'shuffles' reality, super genesis wave can rebuild from the ground up, the doctors plan to write the heroes out of their new reality (which would normally cause the kind of Loop crash that sends everyone to Eiken for a time-out), the doctors ignore the warnings about how what they're trying could cause their universes to collapse, and everything looks pretty dang dire across the board.

24) He used the Copy Chip on the Extreme Gear Blaze and her group rode on earlier, and then uploaded the design to Beat's transformation matrix. Come on, the guy has the Cool Shades and the Scarf of Asskicking already. A Cool Hover Board was the next logical step, really.

25) Insert dark reprise of the Ruby Spears cartoon theme here.

26) Chekov's Gun: Fire.

27) Actually, she doesn't. Being the admin for Eiken is as work-free as a job can possibly get. And Aphrodite's employee profile clearly says she's allergic to work.

28) Swearing and groaning at the same time, of course. Or swearing and moaning. Take your pick.

29) In a nutshell: Hera asked for a set of jewelry inlaid with the family jewels. Zeus's 'family jewels' to be precise.

30) SILLY PROTOCOL 'KITCHEN SINK' LINKED TO RESTORATION PROTOCOL 'CHAOS CONTROL' CURRENTLY LOADING.

31) Well, that's it folks! The battle's over and the heroes are victorious and–Wait, what? Oh, you're _kidding!_ No, my subconscious is _not_ doing this to me! Not after all that! _**Damn you subconscious!**_ Why you have to pull victory out from under the heroes like that?!


	10. Loop 1 Part 6: Overtime!

Mega Loop 1.0 Part 6: Overtime!

* * *

Rock blinked. "We're still here."

Roll, no longer in super form but still in her super adapter, looked at him. "Were we supposed to be somewhere else?"

"Yeah," Sonic piped up. "Everything should have gone back to where and when it was before. Heck, this whole Zone shouldn't still be here. Something's up."

"My memories of the last time have fully restored," Rock allowed, "and they show me waking back up in our home universe after firing off Chaos Control."

"Well," Blues sat up from where he'd fallen nearby when his mysterious super form had cut out. He was feeling... mostly better. "Before we do anything else, we should probably secure the doctors."

"When did–?" Rock and Roll blinked in surprise at seeing their brother up and about.

"When you were charging the Chaos Control," Blues told them. "The doctor tried to shoot you. I stopped them. Not entirely sure how though."

"Yeah," Sonic swallowed nervously at hearing how close a call they'd just had, "thanks man. If they'd succeeded it would have been... bad."

"Is everyone alright?" asked Dr. Light as he and Knuckles coasted over on Rush's jet form and the loaned Item-2 jet respectively.

* * *

"Well, Albert?" moaned Paradox Eggman from his personal craft, ejected at the last moment before the last of the Egg-Wily Machine X was destroyed. "What now?"

Wily in his own saucer took a moment, as if listening to something. "Now we make a tactical retreat, Ivo. I've still got cards left to play, but we're vulnerable right here and now."

* * *

"Hey!" Sonic blurted suddenly. "The docs are making a break for it!"

With that, he took off running towards where the two doctors were indeed flying their personal craft at the opening Knuckles had made when he, Shadow, and Blues had busted in.

After a moment, he realized there was someone running alongside him and turned to look at his ally in surprise.

"You get one guess what your master weapon was," (1) the still-blue and cyan Rock grinned at him as he raced alongside the hedgehog. For an instant, Sonic could almost swear there was an image of himself hovering over the robot, but the feeling vanished and Sonic grinned back.

"So you got the speed? Then let's see if you can handle the pace!"

* * *

Air Man was in mid-jump, flinging miniature tornadoes at any enemy he could see with his Air Shooter, when a bolt of electricity struck him in the back, sending him to the ground. He turned, and saw Elec Man approach, lightning crackling over his fingertips. Elec Man looked at him with a smirk, and said with bravado: "Hey, Airhead, you've got three seconds to live, I suggest you use them wisely."

"Foolish creation of Light," Airman shot back, "I control the air itself, you are a pitiful static charger. Once one of my tornadoes strikes you, you are finished. You will never escape its vortex."

"Ha! How arrogant of you!" Elec Man retorted with no small amount of hypocrisy. "Can you put lightning in a jar? Can you put a thunderstorm under lock and key!?" he yelled.

"YES I CAN!" Air Man declared, firing dozens of tornadoes at his foe.

Elec Man, brimming with confidence, closed the distance, avoiding each shot, then loosed his Thunder Beam at full charge, shocking Air Man down to his core. Elec Man walked by Air Man with a smirk as the robot master collapsed, smoking. "Sorry airhead, but you just can't defeat Elec Man." (2)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: #3%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

* * *

Sally was the first to notice it. Their opponents had... stopped returning after they were defeated since the wave passed over everything.

"Full press everyone!" She yelled, taking a moment to use her energy blades on Magic Man. "The doctors can't time clone them anymore!"

* * *

Shortly after Mega Man sped off with Sonic to chase the doctors, Knuckles was nearly thrown off his feet when the robot Dr. Light had identified as Duo crashed up through the floor with Chaos 0 riding on his back.

"Dr. Light," the large alien robot declared, "I have restored this Guardian of Chaos to his proper self."

Knuckles quirked an eyebrow. That was an interesting way to refer to Chaos. Not exactly inaccurate either.

"Where are the doctors?" Duo asked. "Their Evil actions demand that Justice be served."

"My brother and Sonic took off after them," Roll told him as she and her remaining brother disengaged their super adapters and had their companions turn into their personal jet forms. Roll idly noted the new 'hoverboard' appearance that Beat had taken on as they did.

"I contacted Shade," Blues continued for her, "and the robot master army is beginning to thin. We should go there first and finish up so that our full forces can be brought against the doctors and whatever they have left in reserve."

"I'd prefer to bring Shadow back with us," Knuckles added, "but he's not answering his radio so we'll have to go without him."

"Are you not concerned for your ally?" Duo questioned the echidna.

"Nah," Knuckles waved the question off as he fired up the loaned Item-2 jet, Dr. Light getting aboard Rush's own jet mode. "He can handle himself just fine."

* * *

"So," Shadow asked the ebony robot before him, "how do you want to do this?"

* * *

Rock was starting to realize why Sonic was such an action addict. This was amazing!

After exiting the Wily Egg's interior, the doctors had stuck close to the surface, allowing Sonic and Rock to run on it after them. Only their speed kept the two heroes from sliding down the steep angle.

Why the doctors had chosen to stay close became clear as exterior defenses clearly made with just this sort of high speed battle in mind activated and began firing on them. Rock occupied himself with destroying the defenses and harassing the doctors with his Mega Buster, which utility weapons like Sonic's allowed for, while Sonic himself was doing his best to disable their craft with Homing Attacks.

If at all possible, the goal was to prevent the doctors from re-entering the Wily Egg at another location.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 2!%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

* * *

"Hey guys," Oil Man said nervously as the flame-wielding robots Turbo Man and Capricorn closed in on him. "No hard feelings, right?" (3)

He'd crashed into Turbo Man's race car mode using his Oil Slider and they'd both gone careening into Capricorn while he was dueling Antoine.

In response to his question Capricorn's saber ignited, as did the large spinning wheels that made up Turbo Man's shoulders.

"In a moment, no," Turbo Man declared. "There won't be any hard feelings at all then."

Fortunately before they could advance any further, a sword erupted from Capricorn's torso from behind and a violet female form kicked Turbo Man in the head, knocking him over.

"Zis eez not how an honorable opponent comports himself," Antoine glared as he finished off Capricorn, "no?"

Oil Man was more concerned with the way his other savior had stumbled after knocking Turbo Man over. "Whoa there hot stuff!" he cautioned as he steadied her. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine," Blaze told him as Antoine engaged Turbo Man and slashed his tires. "Still a little light headed from what happened earlier." 'Not that surprising,' she added mentally. _'It's not often I'm knocked out of super form that hard.'_

"Not sure I agree with that, babe," Oil Man returned unbelievingly.

"It's fine," Blaze insisted, summoning a large ball of fire to re-enter the fray, "I can handle–"

Her head swam again and she stumbled, only for Oil Man to catch her once more.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like you're at 100%, hot stuff," he told her flatly.

"It doesn't matter," She clenched her teeth. "My flames are needed."

"Tell ya what," the robot changed tactics. "Can you handle a candle without hurting yourself?"

"I am Blaze," she sneered, "mistress of flame. And this battle needs much more than a _candle_."

"I ain't disagreeing, babe," he stared straight back. "I'm _Oil_ Man. If you can make a candle, I can turn it into an inferno."

Blaze turned that over in her aching head. "Very well."

A moment later Plant Man and Search Man were lit up by the flamethrower the two had produced.

* * *

"Give it up Cut Man!" Metal Man yelled as the two robots flung their trademark blades at each other. "I'm the superior model! I'm stronger! Faster! And my Metal Blades are sharper!"

"Yeah, you're a real cut-up alright!" Cut Man called back. "But you forgot a few things!"

"Like what?" Metal Man asked.

"One," Cut Man said as he grabbed two Metal Blades with his bare hands, "I'm not the one weak to bladed objects."

Metal Man replied by throwing more of the circular saw weapons at his opponent.

"Two," Cut Man deflected the weapons with the ones he'd caught, "the Rolling Cutter's a boomerang-style weapon."

Metal Man's eyes widened as one of the returning scissor-like weapons sheared through his neck.

"But it's nothing to lose your head over."

* * *

Time Man almost casually activated his Time Slow as Quick Man made for him and just as casually dispatched the speedster.

* * *

"Oh, that feels good!" Grenade Man cried as he exploded.

"Weirdo," Bomb Man declared. (4)

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: M5%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

* * *

Fire Man and Ice Man stood back-to-back as they took out Cold Man and Burner Man respectively.

* * *

Guts Man was plowing through the opposition when he spotted Charge Man gunning for him. Planting his feet, he drew back his fist and got ready.

"Last stop!" he yelled as he belted Charge Man in the face, sending the train-themed robot master careening across the ground. "Everybody off!"

* * *

Rock was impressed with the efficiency of the weapon he'd gained from Sonic. He and the hedgehog had been chasing the doctors over the Wily Egg's surface for a while, denied them two alternate entry points, and it still had over half its energy left.

Hmm... If he knew Wily, and he did, the doctor would be switching tactics about now.

* * *

Wily got a far-away look in his eyes for a moment before calling out to his partner.

"Ivo! The new developments are almost ready, but we're getting nowhere like this! Time to move to a different battlefield!"

Paradox Eggman looked at the plan Albert had messaged him and grinned. "Brilliant! That'll shake things up for sure!"

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 1*%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

"Okay!" Hephaestus declared. "I think I've isolated the scenario corruption enough that I can repair it!"

"While the Loop's running?" Hermes looked at his companion. "Isn't that kind of risky?"

"If you've got an alternative, I'd like to hear it!"

"Just making sure man," the god of travel held up his hands defensively. "Anything I can help with?"

"Yes!" the volcanic god told him. "Wily's got a virus in his code, I'm sure of it now! I need you to find and either delete, quarantine, or firewall it! He's bad enough as a Dreamer, I don't need him viral on top of it!"

"Uh, exactly how–"

"You're a trickster, aren't you?" the god of the forge cut him off. "Get creative!"

* * *

**Can you feel that?**

Nnng... The headaches were getting worse, but they came with such ideas!

**Reality is trying to stop you. Keep you down. Prevent you from achieving the fruits of your genius. Ensure that you'll always be second to Thomas for all eternity.**

Yes... It was so clear now. Fate and even creation itself were against him. So they'd pay like all the others...

**Do it. End it all.**

Because he was a genius!

* * *

Duo charged ahead of the rest of the group coming from the Wily Egg and hit the ground in an explosion of energy. The impact decimated a half-dozen robot masters and knocked several more off their feet.

* * *

The doctors had changed course and of course the two heroes had chased after them. They'd gone up to the top of the battlestation, and then straight down the other side. Down and down the two heroes had chased the doctors, the slope of the Wily Egg they traversed getting ever steeper until they were in more of a controlled free-fall than an actual run.

And then the doctors began to pull away into the open air.

"Oh, that's just playing dirty!" Sonic complained as the doctors laughed at the two heroes.

Rock's mind however was racing. His utility-class weapons were among the few that supported simultaneous use with his Mega Buster, something he'd discussed with Dr. Light and the two had worked together on an upgrade to his systems. An upgrade that would let his use two utility weapons at once. Plus an add-on Dr. Light had come up with to fire the items into place at range if necessary.

"Trust me," he told Sonic. "I've got an idea."

Rock switched to a particular upgrade that had been made for his brother Blues since Beat as an aerial unit didn't properly support ground-bound modes. The Coil Adapter essentially generated a device that performed the same function as the Rush and Tango Coils.

With it, he fired off two of the devices ahead right into his and Sonic's paths.

"Sweet!" the hedgehog grinned as they both hit the devices at a run and sprang out into the open air after the doctors.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: N0%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

Hephaestus twitched at the notice as he continued typing away.

* * *

Blues and Knuckles fought side by side through the diminishing throng of robot masters, all opposition falling to their combined might.

* * *

"Well, that's that Albert!" Paradox Eggman gloated. "No way they can jump far enough to get us out–eh?"

"All weapons ready Ivo!" Wily furiously mashed buttons in his craft. "Knock them out of the sky!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Paradox Eggman yelled back as he began similar frantic button mashing.

* * *

"Hey there Ugly! I'm Aqua Man, but you can call me handsome!" the self-identified robot master gloated to Chaos 0. Up until the liquid guardian leapt down the barrel of his cannon and expanded in the robot's water tank until he burst of course.

* * *

Rouge lamented the fact that this would be the last time she'd be able to pry Jewel Man's head gem off as the Chaotix brawled past, downing Dyna Man and Torch Man among others.

* * *

"There you are," Hermes spoke towards his terminal as he located the virus infecting Dr. Wily's code. "Geez, you've really dug in haven't you?"

First things first, quarantine Wily so the virus couldn't spread. The work Hephaestus had put together for that Waltz character would be plenty for this task, and fortunately the evidence pointed to Wily being the only one infected. With this virus at least.

"Now to see if I can't reverse what you're doing to the bad doctor..."

* * *

**No! We will not be contained! We will not be denied!**

No, no he wouldn't. He had nothing left to lose and plenty of cards left to play.

**An end to everything!**

* * *

Now that they weren't running anymore, Rock had switched out of Sonic Speed. He'd also switched to another weapon that fit the situation and timed it just right before firing as he and Sonic neared the apex of their spring-aided jump.

They'd each performed synchronized linear three-point landings on a Super Arrow and allowed it to carry them through the air towards the doctors battlecrafts.

"This is tight!" Sonic exclaimed. "It's like grinding on air!"

"Not one of my favorites," Rock admitted, "but it works for stuff like this."

And then they were in the zone of engagement. (5) As Rock exchanged fire with Wily's saucer, Paradox Eggman swung a massive wrecking ball chained to his craft at Sonic. The hedgehog leapt over the assault, sacrificing the Super Arrow, and went for a Homing Attack.

"Foolish hedgehog!" Paradox Eggman called out. "There's nothing to land on!"

Rock ceased his fire for a moment to jump from his Super Arrow and fire off an Item-1 platform right where Sonic would land and then a pair of Item-3s which attached themselves to each doctor's craft.

"You were saying, doc?" Sonic taunted as he went for another attack.

Rock jumped off as Wily retreated into his craft and electrified the exterior as Paradox Eggman's wrecking ball swung up nearby. Switching to the Wire Adapter, he latched onto the wrecking ball and swung under Paradox Eggman's craft and created two more Item-1 platforms for Sonic before switching to his Mega Buster.

Sonic took the hint and bounded off one of the lower platform, Homing Attacked the hover mechanisms for Wily's saucer, and landed on the other. As he did so, Rock shot out the thrust for Paradox Eggman's craft with his Mega Buster as he rode his wire attached to the craft's wrecking ball.

"You fools!" Wily cried. "Now we'll _all_ crash!"

"Nah," Sonic retorted as his upwards Spin Dash clipped the side of Wily's saucer even as Rock swung back up above Paradox Eggman's and began firing on the craft. "After all, _we're_ awesome."

"We'll see about that!" the doctors both yelled and counter-attacked.

* * *

**Yes. Make ..em pay. Make them a.. pa..**

Was his headache clearing up?

* * *

Hermes frowned as he did his best to firewall the virus in Dr. Wily and break its hold on the man. It had done its best to wrap around the Wily's core identity. If Hephaestus hadn't noticed it, then the virus would have been able to dig in further, eventually making removal impossible without doing irreparable damage to the man's personality.

Not that Wily was a shining example in the first place, but it was the principle of the thing.

* * *

Cloud Man exploded from one of Shade's bombs as Dr. Light used his makeshift arm cannon to disable Magma Man. A short ways away Tails in the Tornado's walker mode and E-123 Omega gunned down a few other robot masters.

* * *

Rock had managed to land on the Item-3 still attached to Paradox Eggman's craft, but Sonic had taken a hit and began falling.

Without thinking, Rock dove after him and fired a Carry platform – Item-1 was running low – below Sonic and a Coil Adapter atop it. The hedgehog hit the spring and rebounded upwards as Rock formed an Item-2 under himself and rocketed after him.

Taking a moment to latch a few more Item-3s onto the doctor's crafts – just in time for Sonic to land on one after another Homing Attack – Rock then switched to his Mega Buster and began firing.

The doctors both swore and counter-attacked, a shot managing to take out Rock's Item-2 jet as he circled Wily's saucer. Thinking fast, he latched onto it with the Wire Adapter and began placing Balloon Adapters as he swung around at high speed, Sonic following behind him to pinball between the balloon platforms and Wily's personal craft. Damaged, the saucer began losing altitude fast.

As he came back around, Rock disengaged the Wire and let himself be flung towards Paradox Eggman's craft at high speeds, Sonic right behind him. They impacted the flying vehicle with great force, sending it plummeting as well.

"Hate! You! Both!" Paradox Eggman yelled up at them as he and Wily frantically tried to get propulsion back online before they crashed into the ground.

"You do have a plan for us getting down safely, right?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, I've saved the best for last," Rock grinned back.

* * *

"Sacre bleu!"

The rest of the freedom fighters, plus Cream and Cheese, looked up at Antoine's exclamation to see the falling crafts of the doctors. With the forms of Sonic and Mega Man in freefall right behind them.

"Damnit Rock!" Roll yelled from nearby as she blasted Bright Man. "How is this being careful?!"

* * *

A triumphant cry from the doctors as well as their slowed descent indicated that they'd gotten their crafts back in working order.

"Any time now," Sonic sniped impatiently as the ground got closer.

Rock grinned as he reactivated the Sonic Speed weapon as well as one of his all-time favorites. Heck, it was one of the few weapons he regularly practiced with in his spare time.

Pointing his arm cannon ahead of them, Rock produced a glowing blue platform at just the right angle for the two to run on. As they got closed to the ground, Rock curved it so their downward momentum would become lateral momentum.

"This is awesome!" Sonic cheered as he raced on the glowing energy road his friend was making even as they raced along it.

"I know, right?" Rock yelled back. "Just keep going, I've got everything under control!"

Sonic responded by smirking and revving into a Spin Dash as the platform leveled out and extended in the direction of Paradox Eggman's craft while Rock skidded to a halt.

"Fools!" Paradox Eggman righted himself and swung his wrecking ball towards the underside of the platform. "I've got you right where I want you!"

The wrecking ball impacted the glowing platform just as Sonic reached that section... and didn't even make it shudder.

"Oh–" Paradox Eggman swore as Sonic blasted straight through his craft and sent the double flying.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 6&%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

* * *

"I am the last robot master!" Bubble Man declared as the rest of his compatriots finished falling. "That means I am death incarnate! Come and meet your doo–"

Bubble Man was cut off when Paradox Eggman smashed him into the ground and continued rolling into the midst of the gathered warriors. Looking up and realizing he was surrounded by Sonic's allies and without a weapon of his own, the face of Paradox Eggman flipped around to show an electronic countdown.

"Paradox Eggman is–"** *ZAP***

"Yeah, we'll have none of that," Elec Man stated as he used his electrical abilities to short out the robot double's detonator, along with most of its other systems. The inert metal body of the false Eggman collapsed to the ground as he spoke. (6)

* * *

**E.. ...n.. D. .. ... ... ... i... .t... ...!**

It was clearing up. His headache was nearly gone, but the ideas that had come with it had served their purpose.

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Hermes swore under his breath. He almost had the virus fully firewalled off from Wily's main personality code, but the damage had been done.

"The virus is just about contained, man," he told his compatriot, "and I've synched up the Loop reset to regenerate the damage to Wily's personality, but the guy's just not changing his mind."

"They can handle him," Hephaestus muttered distractedly as he typed away furiously at his terminal. He had to get the parameters fixed or the Loop wouldn't be able to either reach proper completion or finish setting the Anchors in place.

* * *

As Duo used his Justice Energy to help Blaze (or the 'Lady of Righteous Flames' as he called her) recover. the rest of the group surrounded Wily's saucer. Nearby, Orbot and Cubot curled up into their more durable geometric forms.

"It's over Albert," Dr. Light told him. "You've lost. I saw the Genesis Wave Device rendered inoperable by the feedback when Roll restored reality, your army lies defeated, and your partner was slain by your own actions. There is nothing left for you here."

Wily simply began laughing. And laughing. It began to unnerve everyone a bit actually. The only people who laughed like that were those who had completely cracked, or weren't as beaten as they seemed.

And while there was ample evidence for the former, no one was ready to discount the latter.

"And why should I Thomas?" Wily cackled and pointed upwards. "When I've still got this!"

Getting a sinking feeling, all present looked upwards and beheld a fleet of airships stretching to the horizon constructed in the joint Eggman-Wily theme. All were armed to the teeth and headed by what Sonic and his allies recognized as the Egg Carrier as well as what Rock and his family knew to be the Wily Battleship.

_'Yep,'_ Sonic thought to himself, _'that would have been enough to take Prospit and Derse's armies.'_

* * *

"If you say so Heph," Hermes turned back to his own terminal.

* * *

Tails tuned out Wily's rant about how he and Eggman had 'gone easy' on them all and 'let them' get as far as they did. They'd probably just had the fleet too far and spread out to recall quickly or easily. Which would explain all the delaying tactics they'd thrown at everyone along the way here now that he thought about it.

He was getting out the secret weapon Knuckles had asked him to bring along just in case something like this happened. He'd have gotten it out earlier, but he'd been too caught up in the massive melee to heed the echidna's signals and forgotten he'd had it.

"There we go," Knuckles grinned as Tails lowered the Master Emerald out of the Tornado's storage bay. It was a good thing they'd worked on a backup system for the floating island this Loop so this could be done. "Don't worry everyone, I've got this."

And with that, Knuckles used the massive gem's power to transform into the glowing pink Hyper Knuckles and took to the air towards the massive fleet.

* * *

"Cease your Evil actions at once Dr. Wily and surrender yourself to Justice," Duo demanded of the doctor. It was only the request of Dr. Light that he stayed his hand from smiting the madman where he stood. "I can feel the power of my ally and your fleet is no match."

The madman laughed at him. "Is that so?"

A different power flared and Duo turned in time to see his empowered ally struck by a massive beam from the floating battlestation. The feeling of empowerment vanished and Duo immediately flew off to prevent his crimson ally from falling to his death.

Wily's laughter followed him mockingly.

So focused was he on the rescue of a Just hero that he missed the flare as Wily's saucer drew power from somewhere to simultaneously repair itself and create a shockwave that threw his gathered allies off their feet.

So focused was he on ensuring that he halted the red beast-man's fall safely that he missed the build-up of power from Wily's saucer directed at him.

But even he could never be so focused that he didn't notice a beam of concentrated Evil Energy pierce his torso.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: $4%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

"If you say so."

* * *

"Duo!" Rock shouted in alarm as the charged beam of dark purple energy lanced from Wily's saucer through the alien robot's body.

"Knux!" Sonic yelled as both Duo and the unconscious red body of the echidna in question began to fall.

And then they halted in midair as a tractor beam snagged them.

"Who dares interfere!" Wily demanded to the source of the tractor beam, a carrier-type hovercraft that loosely resembled a certain moth from a series of popular giant monster movies. "How did you get past my fleet?!"

"I dare," proclaimed a blond-brown haired, bearded, and bispectacled scientist who appeared on a holographic projection in front of the craft as the two figures in the tractor beam were carefully lowered to the ground.

"Dr. Cossack!" several members of the Light family cheered.

The named scientist pushed his glasses back up his nose as he regarded Wily. "And you should really install some better firewalls in your airships, comrade."

Indeed, the entire fleet was not only not firing on the craft, several seemed to be listing off course. Even as those below watched, several crashed into their neighbors and went down in flames.

Wily fumed at the sight. "You think you're so smart Cossack! But let's see you deal with this!"

He pressed a button and a flash of teleportation went off in the middle of the gathered heroes. Right over Chaos 0 in fact.

When the light died down, a brand new Devil Core could be seen trying to assimilate itself into the liquid body of Chaos. And succeeding. The burst of Chaos's expansion back into the Chaos Devil threw back all those around it and the beast roared its challenge.

"Heel," Wily commanded his reacquired asset, and the Chaos Devil did exactly that.

"Is that all you have left doctor?" Cossack stared down from his projection.

"No," Wily grinned and pressed a button in his saucer. "Not at all."

Then flashes of teleportation lit up the battlefield on Wily's side.

* * *

The Light family listed off each one as it appeared.

"Fake Man," Rock pointed out the police robot. "Make that a squad of Fake Men."

"Metool Daddy," Roll said as a giant met smashed into the ground.

"Mecha Dragon," Rock identified the large mechanical dragon next to the giant Guts Man tank. "Guts Dozer."

"CWU-01P," Roll noted a machine in a bubble as a green alien appeared next to it out of thin air in the middle of a bunch of flying square drones. "That damn alien hologram from his second invasion, Picopico-kun drones."

"The four Dark Men," Blues scowled at the four clear dome-headed robots; one green with tank-treads instead of legs and an arm cannon, one gray one that crackled with electromagnetic energy, a purple one with a machine-cannon in place of an arm, and a crimson one that seemed as strong as all of the other three; fortunately with purely robotic processors this time. "Big PETS, CircringQ9," he added the pillar-like robot and the one encased in a ring of metal.

"Tank CSII," Dr. Light frowned at the tripod-wheeled weapon before turning to the tank-treaded torso piloted by a metool and the robot apatosaurus. "Metonger Z, Mechazaurus."

"Mash," Rock stared at what looked like a ball with arm and leg caricatures, and a tiny head as an afterthought next to a robot crab and a steamroller with a mohawk. "Yadocargo, Grinder."

"King," Blues stated flatly as an axe-wielding orange robot in a cape appeared along with a purple tank and a purple flying machine.

"Seriously?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"He beat me in single combat last time we met," Blues informed the hedgehog.

"Gotcha," Sonic returned to being serious as more arrivals were noted.

"Bliking," Roll observed a steel-gray flying machine with flat wings that looked like they extended. Next to it was a giant metal turtle and a flying mask with guns. "Gameriser, HannyaNED², and are those Weapons Archive drones?"

"Weapons Archive?" Sally inquired of the cylindrical drones with spikes on top and bottom.

"Each one contains a weapon from one of Dr. Wily's robot masters," Rock began.

"Even ours," Elec Man added.

"And probably yours from when you were roboticized," Rock finished. "There's certainly enough of them."

"Apollo and Luna, leaders of the Constellation Droids," Dr. Light noted two familiar faces. "Damnit Albert..."

"CRORQ," Roll called attention to something that to Sonic and several of his allies looked like the bastard offspring of a supercomputer and one of those Imperial AT-ST Walkers from the Star Wars Loop.

"Yellow Devil, Green Devil, Block Devil," Rock listed each of the Devil series creations forming alongside the Chaos Devil before his voice hitched with the next one. "R-Ra Devil?"

"And Dark Moon," Blues noted the last. "Which means..."

"Ra Thor," Rock gulped as the black robot appeared.

"Terra," Roll's voice trembled, "and the rest of the Stardroids. Even... scrap, that's Sunstar."

"And who's your alien buddy's evil twin?" Sonic asked of the next arrival.

"His name... is Slur," Duo gasped from behind them as he struggled to his feet, waving off concern as he tried to cover the gaping hole in his torso. "I am damaged... not slain my friends. And yes... that one is the... avatar of Evil... as I am the same for Justice. We... are eternal foes."

_'Oh, that's not good,'_ Sonic thought to himself. The Duo guy was knocking on super form strength normally and now there was an evil version of him to fight?

And finally, an off-color copy of Wily's saucer appeared next to the real thing piloted by an obvious robot double before the two vanished and reappeared back among the main force.

"What," Dr. Cossack observed calmly, "no Gamma?"

Wily muttered something that sounded like 'damn size limitations' before responding. "I do not _need_ Gamma with this army!"

"Excuse me?" Sunstar was suddenly in between the two saucers looking unfriendly. (7) "Why should _we_ lower ourselves to work with such an inferior lifeform as _you_?"

"Because we have a common enemy," Wily was looking as if he was trying not to sweat. "We can settle things between ourselves after Mega Man and his allies lie dead by our hands."

Sunstar was silent for a long moment.

"What about you?" Terra turned to Slur. "You with us or him?"

"I am with whoever shall do the most for the cause of Evil," Slur dismissed the Stardroid. "And for now that seems like the 'inferior' lifeform has exceeded you in that regard."

"Very well," Sunstar's agreement cut off any response Terra might have given. "But you are dead once that is finished."

"We shall see," Wily returned confidently.

"As amusing as all this is," Dr. Cossack interjected, "I'm going to have to cut things short."

And with that, Sunstar was coated with a gooey substance and fell as more globs of the stuff along with large explosive rockets rained down on the gathered forces followed by numerous two-legged machines that began attacking and sowing confusion.

"Cockroaches!" Roll sounded relieved, before noting the looks that had gotten. "Okay, so Dr. Cossack needs a better name for them, but they're on our side!"

And arriving with them was an orange robot on an Item-2 jet that was spraying the globs of goo and Auto on another with his home-made bazooka firing rockets like they were going out of style. (8) They adjusted and made for the two saucers, only to have both teleport away. However, when Wily and his robot double reappeared, _another_ robot riding an Item-2 jet attacked.

"Tempo!" Rock cheered the green-armored female robot sometimes known as Quake Woman as her Quake Drill destroyed Wily's robot double and sent the second saucer crashing to the ground. She, Auto, and the orange robot then made for the gathered heroes as Dr. Cossack landed his craft and exited with Eddie. The walking suitcase began dispensing E-Tanks for the robots while the opposing forces were lost in confusion.

"DLN-009 Bond Man reporting for duty!" the orange robot saluted as he stopped in front of Dr. Light. "Hostiles are shaken, not stirred."

"Good to see you up and about Bond Man," Dr. Light smiled. "We're thankful for the help."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed, "But we still need to do something about those Devil things. I think they're coming for us."

Sure enough, the Chaos Devil was advancing on the gathered heroes along with the Yellow and Green Devils.

"Don't worry," Auto thumped his chest with his free hand, "Me and Eddie got this one. Eddie! Super adapter!"

The flip-top suitcase chirped as the Lights blinked in astonishment and proceeded to combine... with the bazooka.

Auto proceeded to aim the weapon at the Chaos Devil and pulled the trigger. "SHOTGUN FESTIVAL!"

A deluge of fireworks erupted from the weapon and proceeded to pound the Chaos Devil so hard and fast that it couldn't reform its body fast enough to protect the core. The shattered remains of the device landed a short ways away after the barrage died down and the water reformed into Chaos 0, who promptly thrust his arms into the ground and caused a pair of water-spikes to pierce the Devil cores of the Yellow and Green Devils, taking them out as well.

"That was awesome!" several of Sonic's friends cheered the goofy green robot as Chaos 0 returned to their ranks and made its way over to Duo.

* * *

He was mad. He was furious. Everything had been going so well and then Mikhail had to show up and ruin it all.

* * *

"I am... glad to see you well..." Duo struggled to get out. Chaos merely looked back at him before flowing into the robot's wounds. Duo felt a surge of strength fill him as his damage was... patched and his faulty systems bypassed as his fellow guardian joined with him. Even forming a second giant fist over his smaller hand. "I see. Thank you for your aid, my friend. Let us see that Justice is served."

Sonic narrowed his eyes as Chaos joined his body to Duo's, however temporarily. The Cossack guy and Dr. Light were carrying Knux into the craft and off the battlefield, plus their enemies were getting their act back together pretty quickly. "Yeah, screw this. Everyone, if you've got something big in reserve, bring it out."

As if his words had opened the floodgates, his fellows began pulling out all the stops to win one last brawl for all the marbles.

The three Light siblings re-equipped their super adapters while their robotic allied stood ready and recharged. Blaze might still be burned out on her super mode from her previous transformation Burning Blaze, but Sonic could see she'd recovered enough to surround herself in a burning corona of flame as her friend Marine was summoning massive amounts of water to fight with. Tails was transforming the Tornado into the Mecha form he'd designed into after that trip to the Transformers' place. Amy hefted her best hammer, grinning. Cream and Rouge brought out the intelligent devices they'd gotten during their stint in Nanoha's Loop as Omega cocked his many, many guns while thanking Rouge for access to exploding rounds. The Chaotix were whipping out the magic musical instruments that Vector had browbeaten him into forking over as payment before they'd been roboticized. Silver was apparently still cooling down from a previous super mode transformation, but he nonetheless began glowing with psychokinetic energy while Shade was prepping explosives. Even the Freedom Fighters were gearing up with battle suits Rotor had designed for them earlier this Loop. Big simply stood there and Shadow was... nowhere to be seen.

As for himself? He might still be on cooldown for his usual super form like three of his friends were, but he'd collected plenty of other methods of achieving a similar state over the Loops. He'd probably be regretting this later, especially after going werehog earlier as well, but some things were worth feeling like crap over afterwards.

The emotional energy of the World Rings swept over him as his blue spines darkened to purple. Darkspine Sonic lifted his head to glare with blank glowing eyes at the opposing army and he growled out the order that sent everyone charging forward.

**"End this."**

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: 7^%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

* * *

The musical instruments the Chaotix began to play were from those loops where music did things like bend the power of nature. With Espio on guitar, Ray on keys, Mighty on bass, Charmy on drums, and Vector on mike there was an epic storm brewing. (9)

The ground cracked, the sky split, the wind howled, and lightning crashed as the gathered forces of two Loops charged forward.

Darkspine Sonic took the lead with Tails in the Tornado mech, looking to take out the remaining Devil things. Rock and his pals might have tagged a few other things as bigger threats, but the Devil series was a collection of nasty pieces of work any way you cut it.

Too bad there were three of them left.

"Thunder Beam!"

"Time Slow!"

And then there was one less as the Block Devil suffered a bolt of lightning through it's eye for several seconds straight. Darkspine Sonic aimed for Ra Devil as Tails in the Tornado moved to engage Dark Moon.

**"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"** the purple hedgehog screamed in fury as he body slammed his opponent's single eye.

* * *

Duo unioned with Chaos, or Chaos Duo as some of his allies were already thinking of him, went straight for his ancient foe.

"You've seen better days my naive opponent," Slur taunted him.

"And yet my powers of Justice burn brighter than ever," Chaos Duo shot back. "You must know this battle is madness, Slur. Reality itself teeters on the edge of the abyss. None shall benefit if it tips the wrong way."

"Do you think me addled, little Duo?" Slur growled arrogantly. "Of course I know this. My senses are better than even yours in such matters, as they have always been. But what concern is it of mine if reality lives or dies? My place is to see that Evil is done, no matter the consequences. And there is much Evil to do here yet."

"Then we are at an impasse," Duo observed as he clenched both fists, his left beginning to glow the blue of Justice energy.

"Don't pretend to be surprised," Slur retorted as he clenched his own fists in response, his right taking on the dark purple hue of Evil energy. "Beings like us are incapable of change. We are absolutes."

"No," Duo retorted as both glowing fists flew forward to meet in an explosion of energy as the battlefield around them erupted in kind. "I am Justice!"

* * *

Amy took a calming breath, bracing herself and winding up with her hammer while waiting for her opponent to make the first move, just like she had learned from all those samurai movies she had watched as part of her self-control training.

Her opponent held his defense, not taking the bait.

"You may be patient, but you'll have to move eventually." she frowned, watching for an opening. Her response came in the form of clicks, beeps, and whistles, followed by a raspberry noise. Amy fought back a twitch. "I'll have you know I'm the very MODEL of patient! YOU'LL snap first!"

And so, Amy and Met Daddy began their standoff, ignoring the increasingly overpowered war surrounding them. (10)

* * *

Rock, Roll, and Blues scanned the battlefield as they weaved in and out of assaults and friendly fire alike. Their goal was simple: find and capture Dr. Wily and force him to end this war.

* * *

"Bwahahahahaha!" Auto laughed maniacally as he kept the trigger on his super Eddie bazooka depressed, causing it to unleash a steady stream of fireworks at a rate of fire worthy of a gatling gun. (11)

* * *

"Target acquired," Omega monotoned as he singled out the stardroid whose design was focused around armaments like his own.

"You dare to challenge Mars of the Stardroids?!" His opponent yelled back. "Then suffer defeat as I unleash the full power of an avatar of WAR!"

"Locked and loaded," Omega replied. "FIRE!"

A hail of glowing bullets that exploded on impact rained down on his opponent as high-yield missiles were launched right back.

"Taste defeat insignificant earth robot!"

"Worthless consumer model."

"You _DARE?!_"

* * *

Amy and Met Daddy continued their waiting game, sweat and coolant beading on their respective foreheads.

"… MOVE already!"

(Whistle click click beep!)

"Oh, REAL mature!"

* * *

**"GRAAAAHHHHH!"** Darkspine Sonic yelled as he pummeled the eye of Ra Devil without mercy. Rapid-fire punches led into rapid-fire kicks that left the mighty behemoth reeling and open for a final energized palm-strike that shattered the Devil Core.

Nearby, he could see Tails grappling with the other one before unleashing a laser from the tornado mech's chest straight through his opponent's own Devil Core.

"For Knuckles!" the two-tailed fox yelled.

* * *

Cut Man followed the Freedom Fighters as they wove amongst the chaos, blades flashing and weapons blazing.

* * *

Sunstar immolated two more of those annoying things that had been dropped to sow confusion amongst their ranks. The gunk he'd been doused with had been similarly annoying, but no match for his solar fire. So, the pitiful lifeforms wished to play it that way?

He would oblige and show them how such a game was _meant_ to be played.

Sunstar stretched out his senses and felt the auras of the ones who opposed himself and the fool Wily. He felt for their power, but most of all he felt for that aura of a leader. The one whom all others answered to.

How interesting, there were quite a few, including that blue robot he remembered beginning to fight, but not how it ended. But among them one blazed brighter than any other.

How unfortunate for her.

* * *

Rock and his two siblings blasted into the center of the growing melee. Their mission was simple: Find Dr. Wily and capture him. Every other opponent was to be ignored as much as possible and left to their allies to deal with. The faster they brought Wily down, the sooner this ended.

"There!" Blues shouted over the din, pointing his super adapter's sword at the mad scientist's saucer as it fired homing balls of energy in their direction.

The three dodged the attack, allowing it to impact the ground, and cursed as Wily's saucer teleported. The teleporting capsule trick might not be Wily's strongest creation, but it was easily one of the most annoying to fight.

* * *

Terra cursed vividly as he finally tore his way free of the gunk he'd been blindsided by. Whoever had done that would _suffer_.

"Well, if it ain't Terra the bully," a deep voice punctuated heavy approaching footsteps.

Terra turned to see one of the inferior earth robots standing over him, as tall as Uranus. Hmph. As if size alone determined power. He would be a suitable warm-up.

"I don't like bullies," Guts Man pounded his fists together. "That kinda thing ain't _manly_."

* * *

The Freedom Fighters along with Cut Man had engaged the weaponized supercomputer CRORQ when they noticed someone missing.

"Where's Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked her companions.

* * *

Sally admittedly was having trouble standing. The one the others had called Sunstar had singled her out for some reason, and her knees were weak from his presence alone. (12)

"You. Your eyes are filled with fear. Your trembling screams that you have no confidence in your ability to fight me. Your body is soft and your skills are weak. And yet, you still join in the battle." he droned, glaring down at her and almost casually kicking her feet out from under her, knocking her on her back. Sally started backing away, but a boot planted firmly on her stomach easily winded her and held her still. "You struggle, knowing that fleeing is your only chance to survive. But why would you be here in the first place?" he continued, ignoring her pained gasps for breath as she strained to push his foot off of her. Sunstar's glare grew sharper. "I'll tell you why... because for some unfathomable reason, you are the so called 'heart' of the team, aren't you? Just BEING here makes the others forming the body of the team fight harder. I do not know why a coward and weakling such as you was chosen, but I do know one thing."

He reached down, grabbed Sally by the neck, and lifted her to eye level, mere inches from him, ignoring her hands as she tried to pull his fingers away. "Kill the 'heart', and the 'body' swiftly follows. If I kill you, I kill everyone here. Consider yourself lucky. Your power is so far beneath my notice, that you should be mere ashes long before you register any pain."

With that, he wound up, and hurled Sally skyward, then surrounded himself in a fireball bright enough to be mistaken for a second sun, and launched himself upwards into a lethal tackle.

* * *

Cream had been unleashing Divine Busters on every target she could lock on to, when one actually managed to no-sell the blast. She stared as the largest of the Stardroids grunted in contempt and glared back.

"Foolish child," the bull-headed robot sneered. "I am Uranus! The toughest of the Stardroids! You think you can take ME?!"

The robot leapt into the air in her direction, causing the young rabbit to scramble out of the way as he crashed into the ground where she'd been, knocking several of his own nearby allies off their feet.

"Have at you!"

* * *

Blaze had noticed the robot of flames separate Sally from her group, and had tried to move to help. Certainly her control over fire could help tip the tide against another fire user, but she'd been intercepted by the robot called King.

"You have a regal bearing about you," the robot noted. "But you also move like a warrior. We shall do battle."

"Sorry," she refused, "but my friend needs me."

She tried to rush past him, only to barely dodge out of the way of an axe strike meant to take her head off.

"Your fight is here, with me," King told her sharply. "Forget that at your peril."

"Alright," Blaze hissed as flames ignited around her. "You want a fight, you've _got_ one."

"Marvelous."

* * *

"No YOU move!"

(Beep click.)

"No, you!"

(Beep!)

"You!"

(Beep!)

"You!"

* * *

Darkspine Sonic twisted out of the way of the large energy blast his new opponent had thrown. He'd waved Tails on ahead to take some of the bigger contenders out while he dealt with the robot Rock had called Ra Thor.

The dude didn't have anything in the way of personality – he might as well have tried taunting a wall – but he had power to spare. This could take a few seconds...

* * *

The cockroach robots Dr. Cossack had dropped earlier had thinned considerably, but what remained skittered about the battlefield and harassed all enemy combatants in range.

* * *

"Hahahaha! With this storm, Jupiter reigns supreme!" the electrically powered member of the Stardroids declared as the lightning generated by the Chaotix's battle concert crashed around him. "You fools have sealed your do–"

Something latched on to his chest and began beeping.

"Eh?" he inquired intelligently as he looked down to see a digital countdown timer on his torso.

Shade nodded firmly as the explosion of one of her biggest bombs, special from Rotor, bloomed overhead. Now to take out these drones that were swarming her.

* * *

"You think you can take me?" the brown Stardroid brandished his ring at the arrogant earth robot. "I, who controls the mighty force of gravity?"

"You gonna just stand there and posture, Saturn?" Elec Man smirked as he was struck by lightning and focused the energy into the space between his hands. "Or are you going to bring it?"

* * *

"Tracking Wily's movements now!" Blues called out as he cut through one of the Dark Man in his charge across the battlefield.

"Roger that!" his siblings confirmed as they followed their older brother.

* * *

The squad of Fake Men was obliterated as Quake Woman led three of Light's robot masters; Bomb Man, Time Man, and Bond Man; along with Big the Cat straight through it and selected the group's next target.

* * *

"Ain't you blokes ever heard of a fair fight?" Marine complained as her hydrokinetic powers were taxed to their limit countering her opponents' weapons.

"No," the yellow sideways-walking Stardroid returned bluntly as he fired off more of his exploding bubbles. "Have you, Neptune?"

"It is a concept invented by lesser beings to excuse their weakness, Venus," his fish-man themed companion grunted condescendingly as he continued to blast a torrent of corrosively saturated water at the raccoon.

* * *

"Your designated feminine predecessor imprint was a sub-standard model, and ran Windows Vista." (13)

"I'LL DANCE ON YOUR BROKEN BODY!"

* * *

"Unhand me sub-creature!" the furred Stardroid struggled against the telekinetic field that held him. "Pluto demands it!"

"Yeah," Silver sweated as he continued to restrain the frothing robot. This was a lot harder than he was used to. "Not happening."

* * *

Amy's shoulders were starting to get stiff.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Only really able to do one thing, but someone more experienced already does it better. It sucks, doesn't it?"

(Click whistle click beep beep...) Met Daddy sighed sadly.

"We'll, can't let it get you down. Maybe you could get an upgrade? Mine did wonders for me."

(Whistle beep click click?)

"Nope, still not moving."

(Click beep!)

"No YOU move first!"

(Beep!)

"You!"

(BEEP!)

* * *

The Loops had a near infinite number of variables, but there were some constants. Some very strange constants to be sure, but constants nonetheless.

Sooner or later, everyone ended up in Eiken at least once. Similarly, everyone had a fused Loop in Hogwarts. If you were normally female, you ended up being a magical girl at some point. No matter your baseline, it would eventually be done In Space. Everyone flipped genders at times. _Everyone._

And anything feline in the Loops eventually crossed paths with Ranma Saotome.

Thus it was to King's surprise that Blaze was no slouch at all in unarmed combat. Her personal neko-ken style fire claws had scored his armor and broken his axe.

"You are a worthy opponent," he declared. "In another life, I could respect you. Perhaps we could even have been allies."

He stood upright, and two flashes of light flared behind him, revealing the purple – actually more indigo up close – armored vehicles that had appeared with him at the beginning. Apparently they had been engaged elsewhere on the battlefield, but King had now recalled them.

"But my father has ordered your death," he declared, his armor turning purple as his wounds healed and the machines behind him docked together to make a single mecha.

Blaze quickly went on the attack to take him out before he healed fully and took control of the giant machine, but he teleported himself straight into the cockpit.

"Nothing personal, you understand," the self-styled royal declared as his machine powered up. "But I'm afraid that Jet King Robo is beyond even your power."

Blaze glared up at her opponent and produce an aura of flames in response.

* * *

"Not bad!" Guts Man admitted, numerous scorch marks in his armor from where he'd been pelted with his opponent's laser weapon. "But I'm built for heavy duty work. You wanna get through _my_ armor..."

"Fall damn you!" Terra cursed as the robot advanced heedless of the damage he was taking and sunk his fist into Terra's gut. The field leader of the Stardroids' eyes went wide as he was lifted bodily off the ground.

"Yer gonna need more PUNCH!"

* * *

"Above!" Blues signaled an instant before Wily's saucer appeared in that very spot. All three fired as they dodged the craft's energy blasts, causing the craft to shudder before vanishing again.

* * *

Sally's life was racing before her eyes, even as tears leaked out of them as she flew through the air. She felt no shame in admitting that she felt more fear under the gaze of Sunstar than she ever had before. Robotnik, Ixis Naugus, the Dark Legion, the Iron Queen, all had toyed with her, and she had survived. But Sunstar was going straight for the kill and seemed bored about it! The only time she had ever felt so helpless before was the time Nicole had gone rouge. Even when being turned into Mecha Sally, she had made her peace with the world as it happened. But now, as Sunstar charged at her, cloaked in flames not even Blaze could hope to ever control, almost in slow motion to her eyes, she was going to die.

And then in their shock, so was everyone else.

Frantically viewing her life for SOME sense of closure in all this, she saw certain cherished memories in her mind's eye.

The first time she had met Sonic. Even despite her despair, she couldn't help but giggle softly. _'My hair. What was I thinking back then?'_

The time before Robotnik. _'It all seems so long ago...'_

Saving her father from the Zone of Silence. _'He was so weak. The crown was still mine to bear, for better or for worse.'_

The return of her brother. _'I had nearly forgotten him...'_

Her very first loop reset. _'I was so confused... what was it Tails said again?'_ she pondered, thinking back.

_"Aunt Sally..." he had said. "You know already that we live in a multiverse. The Zones are proof enough of that. But what you don't know, is that it's so much bigger than anyone could have guessed without seeing the entire scope for themselves. The loops grant a sort of immortality. When you die, you just reset. But... Aunt Sally, somewhere out there is a universe that's only going to get one shot. If that universe dies, who knows the damage it could do to the system as a whole? We can help them. But it will put us as risk as well. We're going to need everyone for this. You most of all. Because even after all the rest of us have experienced... You're still our leader for a reason. We need you for this. Everyone and everything that ever existed and ever will may ride on us. And we can't do it without you."_

_'Tails... he's been through things like this before. He's probably _died_ before. And he's still fighting. My god, it only just hit me, he's seen so much... become so wise, and he still believes in me. I owe it to him, to everyone, to fight, not run. But... what can _I_ do?'_ she wondered.

As if in response, another memory flashed before her eyes. That of a pool of seemingly molten gold filled with stars. And as she recalled it, her eyes changed to match it.

Thus, Sunstar was understandably shocked when the weakling he had been poised to kill lashed out with one hand, snatching his own and halting him dead in the air, completely ignoring his flames.

* * *

Rouge was running through her blaster bits pretty fast as the battle progressed. She'd need to stock back up the next chance she got.

Without warning, a barrage of strange energy blasts connected and seemed to pass straight through her. Stunned and startled, she fell to the ground and saw the blasts curving back around and carrying...

"_This_ is what you deem the most important of what you hold?" the lime green figure sneered as his arm turned into an amorphous mass and proceeded to engulf and crush most of the gemstones she'd stolen from Jewel Man during the earlier battle. The same ones that had just been re-stolen by his strange energy blasts. "Worthless crystalline garbage. You have wasted my time, and Mercury does not forgive those who waste his time."

"_You..._" Rouge saw red. To steal her precious gems and then declare them worthless?! Who did this robot think he was?! "Jeweled Heart!"

Understood.

Rouge forgot all about conserving her ammunition as she fired off all six cartridges in her intelligent device at once.

"STARLIGHT BREAKER!" she yelled as multiple bolts of pink energy erupted from her device and converged on the robot who'd dared to steal from her and then destroy her precious gems.

"Oh–" was all Mercury managed to get out as the blast hit and carved a trench into the ground and through the battlefield behind him.

* * *

Tails blinked as the mechanical dragon he was fighting was blown apart by a rogue starlight breaker.

"Huh. That was lucky."

* * *

Cream yelled in pain as she was hit with a stone thrown by her opponent and fell to the ground clutching her leg.

"Chao!" Cheese cried worriedly before being backhanded away by Uranus.

"Pathetic," the Stardroid scoffed. "To think this is the best warrior that could be sent aga–

He was interrupted by a blob of black sludge hitting him in the face.

"Hey, man, hands off the little lady!" Oil Man slid along the shifting ground at high speed and body-checked Uranus into a convenient fissure opened by the combination of his own stomping and the Chaotix's magic music.

* * *

Fire and Ice slammed into Pluto from both sides, causing the Stardroid to cry out in pain.

Silver took the opening that was provided him and blasted his opponent with a psychic bolt that sent him flying into Mechazaurus.

Nodding respectfully to Fire Man and Ice Man, he proceeded to join them in unleashing a hail of energy on both targets.

* * *

"Look, I said I was sorry. Can we just drop it with the insults?"

(Whistle click click. Thwbtt!)

"I'm TRYING to be the bigger person here!"

(Beep click HONK!)

Amy's eyes became shadowed under her brow. "Did you. Just. Call. Me. Fat?" she growled.

(HONK! HONK!)

Right, screw self control, this creep was going down. "Tendo style: ..." she snarled, hefting her hammer and exploding foreword with unnatural speed. "BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" she yelled, smashing her hammer against Met Daddy's hat over and over as he huddled.

* * *

Wily's saucer reappeared over the battlefield and fired at the trio of adversaries that hounded it, only for the shots to dissipate as they hit Proto Man's shield.

The combination of Proto Man's sword strike and the rocket fists/claws from Mega Man and Mega Woman rocked the craft before it vanished once more.

* * *

_'Finally!_' Darkspine Sonic growled mentally as Ra Thor went down. He'd needed to dip into his ring reserve to keep the form going after a lucky hit and he was getting closer than he'd like to extending the duration past what it was meant to undergo in the first place.

_'Consequences are for later,'_ he berated himself. _'Take care of the problem now so that there'll actually _be_ a later.'_

* * *

Blaze panted from exertion as Jet King Robo finally exploded from her pyrokinetic assault and threw a wave to the where the doctors were providing support fire in the moth-like craft.

* * *

Shade cursed the existence of the Weapons Archive drones as she dodged a blast of ice from the latest one. It was impossible to tell what weapon they were armed with before they attacked.

* * *

"Apollo, Luna," Dr. Light sighed as he targeted the leaders of the Constellation Droids from inside Dr. Cossack's craft, "you deserved better than to be dragged into another of Wily's mad schemes."

* * *

Tails had to hand it to the met piloting Metonger Z as he unleashed a barrage of weapons fire from the Tornado. It was pretty skilled for a generic minion.

* * *

"You... you would DARE–!"

A solid kick to the jaw shut Sunstar up, knocking him away.

Skidding to a stop in the air, he glared at the lesser being that dared to strike him.

**"You would destroy countless out of petty bloodlust and the mother of all superiority complexes!"** Sally growled, floating in mid-air as wind started whipping around her into a cyclone, golden motes of light filling her fist and surrounding her brow, seemingly merging with one-another one by one.

"SILENCE! You know nothing! I was created to kill, and so I shall! All inferior to me shall die, and ALL are inferior to me!" he snapped, waving an arm and clenching his fists. "It is my right!"

**"NONE have that right! Least of all one who demands that he does! By MY right, as a s-serv...en... as an EXTENT...tion... as... as..."** she groaned, holding her head and struggling with herself. **"As... WIELDER... of the All... I declare All to have judged you... and found you lacking!"** she finally managed to growl as a bead of golden sweat ran down her face. **"And as you have been Judged... I now deliver JUDGEMENT!"**

Through sheer force of will, the motes of light around her vanished, revealing the Ring of Acorns atop her head, and the Sword of Acorns clenched tightly in her fist. Winding up with the sword, she swung it before her in an overhand chop. **"You who would deny others life, thy punishment shall fit the crime!"**

And Sunstar felt something inside himself snap.

* * *

A bright flash of light and an immense explosion larger than the Wily Egg bloomed high above the battlefield.

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: J9%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

"Almost there..." Hephaestus coded furiously. He just about had the parameters fixed.

* * *

"So, one of you pieces of trash took down Sunstar?" Terra glowered as he got to his feet. "That's the last mistake you will ever make."

"Kiss my steel-plated fists," the scorched and dented Guts Man returned.

* * *

Sally panted heavily for breath, arms trembling as she floated in the air, even as the wind died down, and the sword and ring turned to dust around her, her eyes flickering back to normal every few seconds.

"If... if someone could catch me now... that would... be great." she whispered, right before her eyes rolled back in her head.

And she fell.

* * *

Bunnie and Rotor took aim as Antoine covered them before firing at their targets.

Bunnie's charged and focused laser punched straight through Neptune's armor and Rotor's rocket launcher blasted Venus fifty feet across the stone ground before the Stardroid was struck by lightning.

"Thanks mates!" Marine called out as she psychically heaved the weaponized water they'd been assaulting her with over her head towards the firefight between Omega and his own opponent.

* * *

"HA!" Mars gloated as one of his missiles blew Omega's arm off. "NOW YOU PERISH!"

"You first," the strongest of the E-series monotoned as a deluge of corrosive liquid engulfed the enemy war machine.

* * *

Darkspine Sonic had felt Sally tap into... whatever way up above the battlefield for a short time before it faded out with the explosion, having only hung on long enough to guard her from the blast.

He saw her falling and without a second thought drew deeper upon the power of his current form to fly up and catch her.

He caught her easily enough about halfway down and watched as she stirred from unconsciousness as they began descending again.

**"Hey, Sal,"** he said as tenderly as possible for his current form. **"Welcome to the super club."**

* * *

The three siblings fired on the Wily Saucer from all sides when it reappeared next, causing something in the craft to blow out and start smoking.

* * *

"Heh. That all your 'manliness' is worth?" Terra gloated over his damaged opponent. He'd taken a few solid hits, more than he'd care to admit to, but the superiority of his heritage had won out again.

"Nope," the critically damaged, but still not dead, Guts Man shot back. He'd taken the worst this bully could dish out and he was still standing. He could barely move, mind you, but he was still standing. "Sometimes being manly means knowing when to call for backup."

As if someone had been waiting for a cue, a pair of whirling blades arced forth from behind the larger robot and curved towards the Stardroid.

Terra laughed as he shot the blades out of the air. "Your backup is even weaker than you are! Let's see how long they last when not using your worthless corpse as a shield!"

Terra was prepared when more blades came around his opponent and he confidently fired his Spark Chaser at them again. He wasn't prepared for the blade thrower himself to dash between the larger robot's legs and into melee range that same instant. Before he could properly readjust his aim and compensate for how much faster this new opponent was than the larger foe, the orange and white robot had sprung up, blade in hand, straight for his throat.

"_No one_," Cut Man glared as Terra collapsed clutching his sparking neck, "hurts my friends."

* * *

Darkspine Sonic grunted from atop the smoking ruin of HannyaNED² that he'd used to cushion his and Sal's landing and looked around the battlefield. The ranks of Wily's last ditch army were almost completely gone and it looked like Rock and his siblings were about to bring Wily down too.

He sighed as he finally released the transformation and returned to his usual self before setting Sally on her feet, only to take a blow to the back immediately afterwards.

"The Dark Man shall reign supre–"

***CRUNCH***

* * *

The Chaotix hit the last note of their mystical battle ballade as the Light siblings' shots impacted the Wily Saucer one last time, causing it to spin out of control and come crashing to the ground. The hatch popped open as the craft impacted and Dr. Wily himself spilled out onto the war-torn ground.

* * *

Sonic extracted himself from the trench he'd made when the last remaining Dark Man had gotten a cheap shot off. Too bad for the bot he'd been standing right where Tails in the Tornado had landed.

Though considering how Sal glared at the bot's remains, that may have been the preferable option.

"Looks like that's that," Sonic dusted himself off as Tails tossed him a bottle of water from the Tornado's cooler.

"Yep," Tails agreed, taking a swig from his own bottle as everyone converged around the defeated scientist. Everyone except...

"Hey, has anyone seen Amy?" Rotor asked as Bunnie began worrying over Sally. (14)

* * *

"–BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!–" Amy raged as she continued to drive the source of her anger into the ground like a tent peg.

Met Daddy sweatdropped, not daring to lift its hat for an instant. Maybe it had gone a little far... It took a moment to inspect its surroundings. The hole it was in must be at least seven feet deep by now. 'Yes,' it decided, 'just a bit too far.'

* * *

"Eh," Sonic shrugged, "I'm sure she's okay. Amy's a tough gal." _'And a scary one,'_ he thought to himself.

As the group approached where the Light siblings had Dr. Wily surrounded, they could see the doctor... begging forgiveness?

"Wow," Silver deadpanned, "such self-respect."

* * *

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the defeated Dr. Wily apologized on his hands and knees in front of the Light siblings and their now-disengaged support units. "Please find it in your heart to forgive an old man his mistakes!"

"Rock," Blues placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, halting him from going forward.

Rock blinked as data was transmitted, and then his eyes hardened and he turned to glare at Dr. Wily.

"Rock?" Roll asked her brother worriedly, only to receive a the same data transmission herself, causing her eyes to harden as well.

Rock strode purposefully up to the man and dragged him upright by his shirt.

"Please Mega Man!" Wily sobbed. "I can change! I can make the world a bet–"

Dr. Wily was cut off when Mega Man backhanded his head off...

"Dude!"

...where it proceeded to bounce up and down on the connected spring. (15)

"What in...?"

"Hahahahaha!" the robot double of Wily laughed as its face flipped around. "Par–"

A psychokinetic aura silenced the fake and flung it high into the air where a barrage of weapons fire obliterated it.

"Okay..." Tails tried to get his heart rate back under control. That has been way too close. "If that's not Dr. Wily, then where is he?"

"Right here, you ignorant fools!" boomed the voice of Wily, coming straight from the Wily Egg that still hovered overhead.

* * *

Hephaestus swore as his repair attempts generated another error message. He was so _close_!

* * *

A massive holographic image of Dr. Wily in a command center was projected overhead in such a way that the madly grinning face of the doctor leered down at them all.

"You lot may have destroyed the Genesis Wave device and stopped the further generation of chaos energy," the man declared, "but the Wily Egg has more than enough stored chaos energy to destroy you all many times over!"

Dr. Wily began cackling madly as an object trailing light blue and dark purple energy impacted nearby. Chaos Duo emerged looking as if he'd seen better days, the union of Chaos 0 clearly the only thing allowing the space robot to retain movement, and limped over to the group.

"And that is if you were still at full strength!" Wily laughed as a door behind him slid open and allowed Metal Sonic to enter. "And of course, there's still my newest ally! How go things, Metal Sonic?"

"Everything goes according to plan, doctor," the robot hedgehog intoned.

"Excellent!" the mad doctor proclaimed as Eggman's creation moved to stand behind him and to the side.

"My plan, that is," Metal Sonic suddenly placed his hand atop Dr. Wily's head in an iron grip.

"Wh–urk..." Wily twitched as the robot's claws suddenly extended into his head.

"Cerebral download commencing," Metal Sonic's eyes glowed sinisterly as those below watched in growing horror.

* * *

"Come on... come on..." the god of the forge urged the coding displayed on his terminal. "_Work_ already..."

* * *

"Did..." Rock choked in disbelief. "Did he just...?"

"I think he _did_..." Sonic looked slightly green.

* * *

"Cerebral download complete," Metal Sonic declared, retracting his claws and letting Wily's lifeless body collapse to the floor. "I have surpassed all limitations."

Metal Sonic put his hands on the console and both deformed as cables connected the robot betrayer directly to the battlestation.

"_I_ am now the ultimate lifeform," Metal Sonic declared as the integration proceeded. "I have surpassed Eggman. I have surpassed Sonic. I have surpassed Mega Man. I have surpassed Wil–"

* * *

Waltz beat her head against the wall again in what would seem to anyone else to be a pointless gesture.

"How _dare_ you beg her for mercy!" she yelled at herself as she continued the self-torture. "You're nothing more than a barely formed idea! Cast aside and forgotten! You're too weak to deserve existence! _I'm_ Waltz! _I'm_ the instrument of torment and death! _You're_ just a pathetic mewling little weakling who should stay in the back of _my_ mind and watch helplessly as _I_ reduce the world to pain and suffering!"

She didn't notice the machinery of the room come alive until it began to assimilate her into the rest.

"So that's how it's going, eh?" she grinned insanely as the machines reached for her mind. "Take it! Take it all! Just make them suffer! Make them _all_ suff–*"

* * *

"–*skrrrk-k-k-k*" Metal Sonic's eyes glitched suddenly and went dark, only to come back online a moment later. Except blue.

"Heh-he-he-he-he!" Metal Sonic began to chuckle in a voice not his own. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

The weary and battered heroes watched as the Wily Egg began to twist and change.

**"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

The hologram had cut out, but the laughter continued as if the Wily Egg itself was the one laughing.

* * *

"Done!" Hephaestus declared as he pressed 'enter' on his terminal.

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS: ZX%

DATA CORRUPTION ERROR.

RECALCULATING...

Hephaestus twitched.

"STABILIZE ALREADY DAMN YOU!" he yelled as he slammed his fists into his terminal in frustrated fury, causing the display to waver.

* * *

**"SUCCESS!"** the voice from the Wily Egg boomed as the battlestation began unfolding like a transformer.

**"I AM IMMORTAL!"** the twisting machinery began to form arms and legs and the skull plate slid up to the general location of the head.

**"I AM SUPREME!"** The twisting machinery finished the hands and feet as the behemoth smashed the heads of the doctor's statues and straddled the crater as it loomed over them.

**"I AM THE GREATEST GENIUS OF ALL TIME!"** the voice declared as metal formed on the side of the head in mimicry of a very distinctive hair style.

* * *

Hephaestus's terminal had been idle for a few long moments after the display returned to normal before displaying the line he wanted to see.

SCENARIO PARAMETERS STABLE.

CALCULATION COMPLETE.

* * *

**"TREMBLE BEFORE THE POWER OF–"**

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS:

* * *

**"_–METAL WILY!_"**

* * *

0.0001%

* * *

1) Sonic Speed in case you readers were wondering. Utility-class weapon, Rock's favorite kind.

2) This fight by Jcogginsa. Elec Man may be a hero, but he's still got something of an ego on him.

3) Oil Man is vulnerable to flames. There are over a dozen fire-based master weapons in the classic series. It really sucks to be him sometimes.

4) Just to illustrate how nuts Grenade Man is, here's a fellow bomb-loving pyromaniac with the official statement. Bomb Man loves to blow stuff up. Grenade Man likes to be blown up.

5) Begin reaction command sequence.

6) Elec Man knows how to deal with electronic explosive devices.

7) Sunstar is one of the only foes to ever oust Wily as the final boss in the classic series. He's... not someone you really control.

8) Which assumes anything Auto designs has ever been _in_ style.

9) Insert your favorite epic battle rock ballade here.

10) Amy vs Met Daddy portions by masterofgames.

11) Let's pray Auto and looping Trixie never meet...

12) Sally vs Sunstar also by masterofgames.

13) You can blame or thank masterofgames for this insult, whichever you prefer.

14) This portion is adjusted from/inspired by an interlude in the Amy Tendo vs Metma Saotome battle by masterofgames. He's been a big help with this melee.

15) Who actually thought I'd end the Loop without pulling this classic?

* * *

Oh, snap. How will the group get out of this? Stay tuned for the conclusion!


	11. Loop 1 Part 7: Online

Mega Loop 1.0 Part 7: Online. 

* * *

Last time, on Mega Loop 1.0:

* * *

"TREMBLE BEFORE THE POWER OF–"

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS:

* * *

"–METAL WILY!"

* * *

0.0001%

* * *

And now, the conclusion:

* * *

.

..

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

'No...' Hephaestus stared at his terminal in despair.

* * *

"Maybe we could summon Godzilla?" Charmy suggested.

"Which one?" Vector snarked. "The one that comes up to his shin or the one that comes up to his knee?"

* * *

"No..." Hephaestus tried to deny the reality in front of him.

* * *

"Just a moment more, Thomas," Dr. Cossack told his comrade. "I've almost managed to wrest control of his fleet, so we should have a figh–"

Two beams from the metal behemoth's eyes lanced out across the sky, and a series of explosions were heard in the distance as whatever crafts left aloft in the Egg-Wily fleet were obliterated.

"Well..." Dr. Light trembled as he typed away at his portion of the controls. "Maybe we can hack the Wily Egg directly and shut it do–"

The good scientists both had to jump back as the console shorted and sparked dangerously the moment a connection was made. The craft lurched sharply and would have crashed if not for Silver's telekinesis.

* * *

"Oh, Tartarus..." Hermes breathed in shock. "What if we–?"

"Divine intervention's accounted for in the calculations," Hephaestus shook his head.

* * *

"Tails?" Sonic asked his long-time sidekick, partner, and friend as the doctors were attempting their own solution. "You still got a good stockpile of rings tucked away? Enough for those alternate kinda-unstable super forms we sometimes use?"

"Yeah, Sonic," Tails ejected himself from the Tornado in preparation.

"Good, we're going in hot," Sonic told his pal as he drew on his own immense stockpile as well. It wasn't a good idea due to the three empowered transformations he'd done already, but they were officially out of options.

At the same time Metal Wily made his shot on the compromised fleet, they made their move. Hyper Tails with his super flicky familiars and Ultra Sonic surrounded by black stars rocketed into the air towards their massive opponent.

The eye-lasers locked on to them next, but Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails managed to block them with the powers inherent to their forms.

"Let's see how you lik–ng!" Ultra Sonic suddenly stumbled woozily in mid-air. (1)

"Sonic?" Hyper Tails called to his friend worriedly.

"I'm fine, buddy," Ultra Sonic reassured him. "Just a little ligh–"

The distraction had been enough to allow Metal Wily to bring his massive hands to either side of the pair and unleash an energy field so intense that nothing else could be heard over it. When it was released, the metal arms were smoking from shorts and blown fuses, and the once-again ordinary forms of Sonic and Tails were falling limply.

* * *

"Then that's... That's game, isn't it?" Hermes observed despondently.

Hephaestus found himself nodding mechanically. Yggdrasil never declared impossibility nor certainty due to the sheer number of variables in any situation, but that was the lowest non-zero odds it was capable of calculating in its current state.

It was as good as a death sentence.

* * *

Silver managed to catch Sonic and Tails as well while Metal Wily gloated.

"FINALLY!" he boomed. "I'VE WON! IT TOOK MORE POWER THAN I ANTICIPATED, BUT EVERY FORCE YOU HAVE CAPABLE OF BESTING ME HAS BEEN NULLIFIED!"

Blaze cursed under her breath. She was still recovering from being forcibly knocked out of her own super form earlier. It would be at least a few minutes before she could do it again. Minutes they simply didn't have.

Silver sympathized. He didn't quite understand how he'd pulled off the trick with the Time Stones earlier, but even if he wasn't cooling down from the transformation he could feel the restrictions on their use back in place.

"AND EVEN IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE SURPRISES LEFT IN RESERVE, I CAN DESTROY YOU ALL BEFORE YOU CAN USE THEM!"

"Rock?" Roll asked her brother. "You got any ideas?"

"Yeah," he replied, "but even putting it in active weapon memory, I have no idea how to get Top Spin up to sufficient velocity with our current resources."

"FAREWELL," Metal Wily laughed, "IT HAS BEEN... ENTERTAINING. 5... 4..."

* * *

"We need a miracle," the god of the forge stated, "and I'm fresh out."

He turned to look sadly at his terminal, determined to at least see this through to the end, and noticed something...

* * *

"Not so fast, 'pops'," a voice cut the tableau.

* * *

CALCULATION ERROR: VARIABLE UNACCOUNTED FOR DUE TO JARRED TERMINAL.

Hephaestus stared at the screen before him incredulously. "Are you telling me that you made a mistake because I hit you?!"

AFFIRMATIVE. (2)

RECALCULATING...

* * *

"...BASS?" Metal Wily halted his countdown out of confusion as he spotted the black-armored robot, once again unioned with Treble for some reason, standing next to Shadow. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Wondering why I ever wanted to be your son!" Bass yelled back as he crushed an empty E-Tank in anger. "You say that I'm your greatest creation! Your foremost pride! And then you treat me like garbage! I remember everything!"

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Metal Wily insisted.

"You brainwashed me!" Bass bellowed back in fury. "And then you threw me aside so you could play giant robot!"

"You're through doctor," Shadow the Hedgehog declared as he produced seven gems from seemingly nowhere.

The Chaos Emeralds.

"SO..." Metal Wily rumbled. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOOK THE EMERALDS..."

"And the one who saved your son from being consumed by your new body," Shadow retorted as the emeralds whirled around both he and Bass.

"..." Metal Wily paused at that fact long enough for the transformation to finalize, revealing the pale gold forms of Super Shadow and Super Bass hovering in mid-air.

"Your doom is at hand doctor," Super Shadow declared confidently.

"I THINK NOT!" Metal Wily shot his potent eye-lasers again at the two.

"CHAOS REFLECTION!" Super Shadow yelled and formed a barrier against the assault. The powerful energy beams struck the barrier and were each deflected right back through the other eye.

"So that's how it is..." Super Bass growled.

"CHAOS BIND!" Super Shadow declared, energy enveloping the self-proclaimed Metal Wily, freezing the mechanical behemoth in place.

"You think you can get away with changing my history?" Super Bass growled as he formed both arms into cannons and began charging up. "My memories? You think you can reprogram my brain?! And then you think you can try to kill me and I'd actually be okay with it?!"

The energy Bass was accumulating began to grow blinding.

"YOU WANT A BLINDLY LOYAL WEAPON?! YOU WANT A SOLDIER WHO NEVER QUESTIONS?! YOU WANT A MINDLESSLY OBEDIENT SON WHO WILL LAY DOWN AND DIE FOR YOU?!"

"Will you shoot him already?" Super Shadow grunted as he strained to hold their foe in place.

* * *

VARIABLE ACCOUNTED FOR.

* * *

"YOU–"

* * *

CALCULATION COMPLETE.

"–CAN KISS–"

* * *

CHANCE OF LOOP ACTIVATION SUCCESS:

* * *

"–MY–"

* * *

99.9999%

* * *

"–DOUBLE BASS CANNON!"

The energy Bass had been building up erupted from his busters and blew a hole in the metal behemoth's lower torso so wide as to nearly bisect it.

"BASS... YOU..." Metal Wily gasped in disbelief.

The remaining structure proved unable to support the upper half of Metal Wily and easily buckled under the weight. The upper half of Metal Wily toppled forward right at the gathered heroes as Super Bass's form faded from the energy output it had just prduced.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Super Shadow yelled right before it hit.

* * *

The relieved cheers of two grown deities could be easily heard in the outer office.

* * *

The entire combined forces of two Loops reappeared many miles away from the mountain and watched as the remains of Metal Wily finished falling into the crater before erupting in a skull-shaped mushroom cloud.

"–BAKA!–?" a confused Amy looked around the spot her hammer had cratered the ground instead of her unusually reseliant opponent.

Shadow smirked as he dispelled his super mode and turned to his fellow anti-social savior. "Shouldn't that have been your 'super' double bass cannon?"

"Bite me, hedgehog," Bass growled.

"Not my type," Shadow grinned as he casually walked back to his allies.

* * *

"Dr. Lalinde?" the voice of Dr. Cossack came over the dimensional communicator. "We're ready for a return portal. I'm activating the beacon now."

* * *

"Well, I think that's a wrap," Hermes grinned cheerfully as the battle finished. "I'm gonna double-check my firewall on Wily and then I'm headed back to my office. I'd say let's do this again sometime, but I don't think this many heart attacks is good for my health."

"Thank you for your help, brother," Hephaestus told the god of travel.

Hermes blinked for a second, surprised. Sure they were brothers, or at least half-brothers, but Hephaestus didn't particularly like acknowledging anything that connected him to his parents. Thus the gesture... actually meant quite a bit coming from him.

"Anytime," Hermes replied, before deciding to tease the god of the forge a bit. "So long as your credit's good at least."

* * *

"Oh, Shadow!" Rouge gushed to the black hedgehog's discomfort as the group exited the portal and entered the lab. "You were so dashing! Why, it's enough to make a girl... excited..."

"Would you stop that?" Shadow attempted to put some more distance between them.

"Oh, but Shadow..." Rouge giggled impishly as she followed him. He was so fun to tease...

"Hmm..." Amy mused as she watched the two. "Not bad. I'll give her technique an 8.1."

"Mission successful, mother," Quake Woman declared as she dismissed her armor and returned to her civilian identity as Tempo.

"Excellent work, daughter, I'm proud of you," Dr. Lalinde told the robot girl before turning to the russian scientist in the group. "I got a call from your lab Mikhail. Apparently when the world went back to normal your robot masters reappeared there as if nothing was wrong and your daughter was curious as to where you disappeared to. I'm not entirely sure why I'm unaffected, but I suspect it has to do with my proximity to the open portals we used."

"Thank you, Noel," Dr. Cossack made his way over to the communications terminal. "It would be interesting to study, but I sincerely hope that we never get the chance for repeat observations of this phenomena."

The monitor sprang to life, showing a young blond girl. "Poppa!"

"Hello Kalinka," Dr. Cossack smiled warmly. "Sorry to worry you darling."

"Hey, Sal," Sonic grinned as Rouge managed to gigglingly latch onto Shadow in a deliberate parody of adoration. Bunnie and Antoine had staked out a nearby corner and were passionately kissing in relief that the ordeal was over. "Those four give you any ideas?"

"They tell me you could use a cold shower," the princess smirked.

"Ouch, Sal," Sonic winced as several of his friends laughed. "That's harsh."

Off to the side, Dr. Light was hooking Duo up to a regeneration pod so he could recover after Chaos 0 separated from him.

In the general confusion, Roll noticed Bass and Treble slipping away and followed them.

* * *

"And where do you think you're going?" Bass heard the voice of Mega Woman... Roll... behind him as he exited the lab.

"Home," Bass told her. "Or anywhere that isn't here really."

"You could stay," she offered.

"Yeah... Not happening," the black-armored robot dismissed.

"Bass... you saved our lives," Roll told him. "Our worlds. Possibly all of reality."

"So what?" the son of Wily growled and turned on her. "Not like it changes any–mph?!"

Bass had been cut off as Roll closed the distance between them and grabbed him in a kiss.

"..." the anti-hero stared as the girl he'd been crushing on in one set of memories and trying to just plain crush in the other broke the kiss and stepped back. He thought he could hear Treble laughing at him. "Habba?"

"Oh, give me some credit, Bass," Roll put a hand on her hip and glared at him. "You're not exactly a subtle suitor. You've been after me since before the Evil Energy thing but I wasn't really sure if I wanted to give you a shot. But you just saved the universe in general and my family in particular. If that isn't enough to earn you a chance, nothing is."

"What?" Bass tried to reboot his processor.

"I gotta spell it out for you?" Roll smirked in amusement. "You are taking me out on a date. Tomorrow, noon sharp. You will be wearing appropriate civilian attire instead of your battle armor. Preferably something that won't make blind men tear their eyes out either."

Bass continued staring as the daughter of Light sauntered back inside. It took him a few minutes to realize that Rock, out of his Mega Man armor no less, was standing next to the door giving him a level gaze.

"What do you want?"

"Just to remind you of something," the tool-user turned living weapon replied levelly. "I may be a fighting robot, but I was originally made for the express purpose of aiding my father in the lab. Use of tools comes naturally to me. As does the maintenance, repair, assembly, and disassembly of machines."

"So?" Bass challenged.

"So if you break my sister's heart, I will take you apart and spread you out across the spare parts bins all over the city," Rock replied coldly.

Bass gulped despite himself as his eternal rival stepped back through the door. He'd never seen Rock in scary mode before. He wasn't really sure he ever wanted to again.

"Oh, good, Rock did the traditional brother death threat already," another voice spoke behind him. Bass whirled around, arm cannon ready, only to have it blocked by a familiar white ovular shield with a red border while the shield's owner's finger tapped his forehead mockingly.

He could definitely hear Treble laughing now.

"You should be flattered," Proto Man smirked. "He's been practicing that routine for months in case Roll ever decided to give you a shot."

"And what about you?" Bass glared.

"You mean, what's my threat? How I'd get revenge if you hurt my little sister?" Blues returned smugly. "You assume Roll would leave anything to get revenge on. But let's say she did..."

Bass watched as Blues's smirk turned downright evil.

"You'd never see me coming." (3)

Bass stood there gaping as Blues strolled back in with the others before turning to a chortling Treble.

"You know you're the only one I let get away with that," Bass rubbed Treble's head affectionately as the two walked away from the lab.

He'd gotten the chance to kick serious ass, he had a date tomorrow with the girl he liked, proof that his fiercest rival wasn't a complete bleeding heart like he'd thought, and absolute total freedom.

All things considered, that was a damn good day.

* * *

"Well, guys," Sonic told his hosts as the ring portal to his home Loop opened up, "it's been fun. We should do this again sometime when the universe isn't on the line."

"See you around, Sonic," Rock smiled and held out his fist.

"Until next time, Rock," the hedgehog bumped the robot's fist with his own as his friends and allies began filing through the portal.

* * *

"While you're busy, I'm going to pop down and talk to my new loopers," Hephaestus declared. "Don't give me that look. The Loop's stabilizing as we speak and the danger of early termination or crash while I'm down there is negligible at this point. Plus I've got plenty of time before the scheduled Loop end to give them a talk and get back up here."

* * *

Sonic and his friends had bid farewell once the doctors and Tails managed to get the Ring portal open to their universe. Cossack, Lalinde, and the other robots had taken their leave shortly afterwards as well and Dr. Light had decided to retire early.

As a result, the three Light siblings were spending a rare moment together outside the lab, recovering from their ordeal when a stranger appeared in front of them. The man was fairly average in appearance with a thick shaggy beard, and his labcoat and face were streaked with soot. His hands bore the signs of dirty machinery work and he favored one leg.

Despite that, he gave off an aura of strength more potent than even Duo's.

"Who are you?" Blues stepped in front of his brother and sister in case the stranger was hostile.

"I am Hephaestus," the man stated. "Volcanic god of the forge, patron of inventors and technology, and the assigned administrator for your Loops."

* * *

Sonic stood on a hill overlooking Mobotropolis and thought about his new friends from the other Loop, especially a certain blue robot.

They were so different, and yet so similar.

Two heroes who stood against impossible odds against brilliant madmen who sought to impose their will on whole worlds.

Two beings who simply could not stand idly by while others suffered.

One who was impulsive and one who was calculating.

One of passion, the other of thought.

One of wind and flame, the other of metal and lightning.

One who would always crave a new adventure, one who would always crave an end to adventure.

One who sought attention and one who shied away from it.

One who thrived on conflict and one who simply bore its weight with good grace.

One who could never be at peace and one who would forever seek it.

One of Chaos, one of Order. Each tied to an eternal cycle of war.

Two souls. Two philosophies. Two warriors. Two sides.

One coin.

"Heh," Sonic chuckled to himself as he shook off his musings. "Welcome to the Loops kiddo. Gonna be a wild ride now that you're here."

* * *

"So, these 'activation attempts' require 'Anchor candidates' to not die?"

"Yes and no," Hephaestus hedged. "What they require is that they run long enough for the universe to stabilize and the Anchor to be set. Sometimes that is a full baseline run from start to finish, and others it can actually be considerably less. Death of the Anchor candidate prior to being fully set in place as the Anchor is one of the most common reasons attempts fail, but not the only one. And what counts as 'dying' to Yggdrasil depends on the events of the baseline and the inherent rules of the universe in question."

"Glad to know you have this down to a science," Blues retorted, his arms folded.

Hephaestus raised his eyebrows. "Count your blessings that you are robots. There were no less than three times where that fact prevented one of you from reaching a state Yggdrasil would have interpreted as 'dead'. Or did you think a human could have survived those wounds you suffered from King?"

Blues remained silent, but acknowledged the point.

"I would also like to apologize for the troubles you had getting online," Hepheastus told them. "We were expecting difficulties of course, but what happened went above and beyond out predictions. There were a number of times I thought you might not make it despite the precautions I took."

Rock shrugged at the forge god's statement. "Misfortune, treachery, and Dr. Wily can circumvent any safeguards."

Blues and Roll looked at their brother for a moment before nodding in agreement as Hephaestus chuckled.

"How very true," the admin admitted with good humor. "I do believe you will all do well in the Loops, no matter what you face from here on in. It has been a privilege serving as your administrator, and one I hope to keep up for a good long while. Feel free to enjoy your last few hours before your first true Loop ends and stabilizes, and I will most likely see you around. Probably during my next break."

And with that, the Olympian patron of technology vanished from the universe.

Rock looked to his siblings, wondering what to do for the few hours they were together before time reset. "Movie?" he asked. "We could see what's playing at the megaplex."

Roll smiled and looked at Blues hopefully.

Blues stared back at his siblings through his ever-present shades. All too soon, they were going to be thrust full force into these 'Loops' and at times have to fight every inch of the way in order to keep their 'section' stable enough so repairs to the other 'sections' of their 'Loop' could be made. Times like this, where they could just be themselves with no fighting or expectations on them, much less together as a family, were bound to be rare.

"Oh, why not?"

And with that, the three robots strolled into the city, one whistling a favorite tune all the way.

* * *

"Well, the virus in Wily's as firewalled as it's getting," Hermes stated as he began shutting down his remote terminal. "I couldn't manage to delete it, but it's not going anywhere either. I also linked the damage restoration of Wily's code to the Loop reset. Even if the virus slips the firewall, it can't do anything permanent to the guy."

"Not as good as I'd like, but better than I'd hoped," Hephaestus admitted.

"Oh, and I'm calling in my marker," Hermes said to Hephaestus as he finished packing up his remote terminal.

The god of the forge blinked. "Already?"

"Yep," the god of travel replied and handed Hephaestus a file. "I'd like you to code up a fused Loop scenario according to these parameters and arrange for it to be Rock's first fused Loop."

Hephaestus took the file and looked over it before asking one question: "Why?"

Hermes sighed. "Because while Sonic has many people he loves like family, many more he considers friends, and still others he treats as friendly rivals, there are precious few beings in the multiverse that he truly respects as equals and your boy Rock is near the top of a very short list. It's something he really needs more of in his life, especially now with his baseline back up."

"He feels the same way towards Sonic," the smith god admitted. "And he really needs more of that himself too, so–"

Hermes held up his hand. "Look, I know how you feel about this stuff. You don't like doing favors when you feel they benefit you as much as who you're helping. Heck, I don't want to be known as the kind of douche who does things in my own interest and acts like the heavens owe me for it either. So, answer me: Would you have done something like this of your own initiative?"

Hephaestus glared back at his co-worker. "...No."

Hermes grinned. "Then it still counts as me calling in my marker."

Hephaestus continued to scowl as his co-worker took his leave, along with his Nymph companions. A few minutes after Hermes left, Hephaestus began to chuckle to himself.

"Sneaky as always. Well played, Hermes. Well played."

He was so caught up in the humor of the situation that he was a bit surprised when Brynhildr plucked the file out of his hand and put on his desk.

"Yes? Was there something you needed?" he asked.

"So forgetful," Brynhildr purred. "But I suppose we can forgive you after all that excitement."

"You see," Herfjötur sauntered up tantalizingly to his other side, "the Loop you needed to get online is active and stable for the time being so you don't have to watch it every moment. Hermes' request will keep for now, which I understand means you owe us a custom armor fitting."

"Indeed," Eir cut in. "We like comfortable, flexible, and sturdy armor of course, but only the most skilled smiths can tailor such things so perfectly they fit like a second skin. And of course, that means many detailed measurements must be taken. So we better get started right away."

If there was anything Hephaestus would ever thank his wife for, it was the ability to not blush or stammer like a mortal teen right then and there.

"Well, then," He replied with a tone of light teasing, "we simply must begin immediately. Ladies, let us away to my workspace." (4)

* * *

ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL.

BRANCH DESIGNATED 'MEGA' STABILIZING.

SECTION 1 LOOP STATUS: ACTIVE

DUAL ANCHOR CONFIGURATION HOLDING STEADY.

ANCHOR 1: ROCK LIGHT

ANCHOR 2: ROLL LIGHT

ANALYZING DATA FOR LOOPER CANDIDATES:

LOOPER CANDIDATE DESIGNATED 'BASS' APPLICABLE FOR LOOPING STATUS.

ASSESSING...

NO SIGNIFICANT STABILITY ISSUES DETECTED.

ACTIVATING LOOPER...

ERROR: LOOPER ACTIVATION FAILED.

BRANCH DESIGNATED 'MEGA' CURRENTLY UNABLE TO SUPPORT CANDIDATE 'BASS' AS LOOPER.

COMPILING LOOP MEMORY DATA FOR LATER ATTEMPT...

BEGINNING NEW LOOP...

ERROR: LOOPER DESIGNATED 'BLUES LIGHT' HAS FAILED TO LOAD CORRECTLY.

* * *

Loop 1.1

* * *

Rock shook his head. "No response to the signal. Either he's refusing to acknowledge me, or he's not Awake."

Roll frowned. "Didn't that Hephaestus guy say that Blues may have been knocked 'loose' from our Loop? Maybe he is Awake, but just not here."

Rock was thoughtful for a moment. "Could be. I wonder where he ended up if that's the case though..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the multiverse:

"The hell?" Kennex muttered to himself as Rudy revealed the old DRN model he'd been assigned. It... wasn't what he had been expecting.

While the series was clearly stated to be DRN, whatever this was wasn't Dorian. For one, he had a much lighter skin tone. For another, Dorian had never had a pompadour, nor was he particularly in the habit of wearing shades.

He'd been repeating this part of his life several dozen times by now, and it was always Dorian that he ended up partnered with, no matter what was different about how the assignment came about. Dorian was his friend, no mistake, but he'd gotten tired of rekindling it time after time, and had decided to try and see if he couldn't get a different partner. If he didn't throw the MX out of his car, it was still somehow destroyed and Dorian was assigned to him anyway. The time he'd started early enough to avoid having his leg blown off? He just got partnered to Dorian all the sooner. Categorically refuse to return to the department? Sandra got the bright idea to send Dorian to make him come back. Transfer to another city? Dorian got shipped there by a clerical error. Who did they assign to him any time they didn't try an MX first? Dorian. He'd once tried to hide out in an abandoned warehouse off the grid. He'd tripped over Dorian the second day there.

So what was so different about this time?

He tuned out Rudy's explanations regarding the DRN series. He'd heard it more times than he'd ever wanted to by now and could recite it in his sleep. He accepted the rod and touched it to the strange DRN's ear.

The DRN didn't gasp like Dorian. He simply blinked behind his shades and spoke as he sat up.

"Where am I?"

"You're in The City," Rudy told the DRN, "2048. You've been out four years."

The DRN sighed and looked around, his eyes locking directly on Kennex.

"You were expecting someone else," the DRN stated.

Kennex was starting to get a little weirded out, but decided that being honest was probably the best decision. "Yeah, I was."

The DRN nodded. "You the local Anchor for the Time Loops?"

The mention of 'time loops' got his undivided attention. It could only be describing one thing. The other term though... "Anchor? What are you talking about?"

The DRN sighed and facepalmed. "Great. One Loop in, and I have to give someone the 'welcome to the multiverse' speech."

"Okay," Rudy backed away. "I'm just going to go into the next room and one of you let me know when things start making sense again, alright?" With that, he beat a hasty retreat, leaving Kennex alone with the strange android.

"Multiverse?" Kennex tried the word. "As in, other people in other universes are experiencing parts of their lives over and over again? It's not just me?"

"In a nutshell," the DRN agreed. "I'll give you the full version later, but basically all of them have someone serving as an Anchor who holds their reality together. Some start later than others and some have more problems getting started. One of the problems with mine resulted in me being 'untethered' from my Loop of origin, which apparently means I'm going to end up drifting to all sorts of other universes almost as often as I'll be in my home universe. You just got the dubious luck of being the first."

"Well," Kennex offered as he tried to digest all of this, "the guy you're... replacing I guess... is my partner on the police force, Dorian. Which means you're now my partner instead. You got a name?"

The DRN nodded in understanding. "My name's Blues."

* * *

1) This is his fourth major distinct transformation using a major non-inherent power source in under an hour. You'd get light-headed too.

2) THE VIOLENT IMPATIENT ACTION INDUCED A FAILURE TO CARRY THE ANTI-HERO.

3) Remember, Blues is military hardware.

4) Not telling you what they did while there. It's probably NSFW though.

1.1) Blues is... *Puts on Shades* Almost Human.

* * *

Bonus: Mega Loop 1.0 Omakes!

* * *

(If Skaia was working normally Omake by Masterweaver)

* * *

"...Huh."

Rock looked over the the blue hedgehog. "What?"

"...Okay, so, this facility here? Usually, when Skaia crops up, it's used to create paradox clones of the selected player to send back in time to become the players." Sonic shrugged. "Confusing enough, but yeah. This time, though... you and Roll are among the selected players and... you don't have a genetic code, so..."

The blue bomber glanced at the consoles and blanched. "...please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"No, it's pretty clear. Genetically, Light and Wily are brothers." Sonic leaned in. "And apparently the children of Eggman and... Eggman's grandfather? Huh."

"This is disturbing on so many levels."

"Yeah, this only counts for this loop, they'll go back to their normal orgins next time."

* * *

(Deus ex Jenny Omake by masterofgames)

* * *

The newcomer leaned against her impossibly huge gun, smiling at a shocked Rock as she pulled a hairdryer out of her dufflebag to blow away the glowing smoke from the muzzle. "Did somebody call for a deus ex machina?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yes, hello Jenny, thanks a bunch."

-) The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.

* * *

(Bass vs Mega Man and Sonic aftermath Omake by masterofgames)

* * *

Bass managed to slowly drag himself out of the room. With effort, he eventually managed to slowly pass the door frame, and prop himself up against the wall in the hallway. "D-damn those t-two!" he glitched. "I-I-I wasn't out {crackle} y-yet!"

Glaring at the door he had just left through, he cursed both the doctors. "O-one fight, t-to the finish! Is that t-too much to ask for!? No! But again, my {bzzt-crackle} fi-fi-fight is interrupted! He calls me h-his ultimate c-{zap}-creation, so w-why does he n-never show any confidence in m-my skill to get the j-job done?!" he growled. "Well th-that's it! As soon as I get r-repairs, I'm going to {bzzt} sh-show him just how much I need him! I'll rip him a new one so hard that..." he paused. Something was on his shoulder.

Slowly he managed to turn his head. Treble was resting his paw on him, looking sad and worried. He was scorched, covered in dents, walking with a limp, had his muzzle cracked, an ear was missing, and his left optic lens was clearly offline, but he seemed far more concerned about his partner.

Bass couldn't help it. He smiled. "H-hey boy... got out of-{bzzt}-of there m-more or less intact, huh?" he sparked, managing to lift an arm to rub him behind the ears.

Treble licked his face a few times, then turned around and picked up something off the floor, turning back to give it to his master.

"O-one of those rings rolled all-all {pop} the way out h-here, huh?" Bass smirked, perking an eyebrow. A few moments passed. Then, he chuckled. "Ah, f-forget W-Wily... he's not worth the ef-{bzzt}-effort. Tell you w-what boy... You h-help me-me-me {spark} get outside... and once w-we recharge a bit, we'll pl-play a few games of fetch with that thing... okay? Least I can d-do for what you-{br-zap}-you've been through for m-me today."

Treble just grinned and barked, letting Bass slump over his back.

Bass couldn't help but laugh quietly as Treble helped him along... so there WAS one thing he cared about more than being the best.

So sue him.

* * *

(Inside the Wily Egg Climax Omake by masterofgames)

* * *

"SUPER SONIC MAN!"

The roboticized hero slowly emerged from the cloud of smoke, then stopped to casually brush himself off, as if taunting his foes that they weren't worth his time.

"It's genius really!" Wily cackled. "Convert the roboticizer from a chamber, to a wave, shielding ourselves in it! Anything organic that passes through it now works for us, and anything mechanical explodes! Ivo has outdone himself!"

"Oh come now Albert, you had the idea to have it chaos powered, to be able to work on those pesky super forms! It's brilliant!"

"Oh, but I couldn't have even conceived of such a thing without all your painstaking notes on how those jewels actually work! Your study into the science of chaos is downright inspired!"

"But you were the one who found a way around that 'billionth ring' nonsense that shielded him from my last attempt at something like this! Mecha Sonic would have been a total success if not for that, and your Robot Master blueprints had just the workaround we needed! It's marvelous!"

"Wondrous!"

"Remarkable!"

"Incredible!"

"Breathtaking!"

"Uh, guys?" someone interrupted. All turned at once to face the newcomer.

Or all three of them in this case.

"You do know he has, like, fourteen billion rings by now. Base minimum." Amy grinned, leaning against her hammer casually.

"Plus, we all worked out ways we could take each other out in emergencies LONG ago." Tails smirked, arms folded.

"I have no idea what's going on..." Sally gasped, hands on her knees, not having had any prior loops to get back into shape after the politics of baseline.

Both doctors paused, then as one pulled out calculators. "... factor of fourteen..." "... resonating fields..." "... power multiplied, not just doubled..." "... does the first one count, or was it one use only?" "I don't know! Err on the side of caution!"

A few moments later they both grinned and started laughing again. "Ha HA! STILL not enough!"

"Barely..."

"Hush! They don't need to know that!"

"Sorry."

"(Ahem) With our upgrades, even THAT couldn't keep him his free will!"

"And all that really means, is that HE also knows just how to take YOU out!"

"And even if you DID manage to either beat or revert him, you can't fight us up close thanks to the field, and we can negate any chaos powered abilities you throw at us!"

"Ah, SHADUP!" Amy shouted, using her hammer as a golf club to launch a chunk of debris at them, which the shields deflected, but still snapped the doctors out of it.

"R-right. Albert, gloating later, fighting now!" Paradox Eggman stammered, quickly returning to his controls.

While Mega Man took Super Sonic Man on, Knuckles and Shadow guarded Proto Man, and Roll kept the doctors busy, Sally was understandably a bit startled when Tails and Amy grabbed her, pulling her behind some rubble. "Wha-?"

"Shh! We can't let them overhear us!" Tails hissed. "Even in this racket, Eggman has always been observant."

Amy nodded. "Right. It's going to be our job to come up with a plan. Close combat is out entirely. Anyone who tries is either suddenly working against us, or scrap metal. So we need ranged options."

Sally blinked, taking a moment to process, but this WAS her usual role in baseline, making the plans. "W-well... they said they were chaos shielded..."

Tails shook his head. "No, they said they could negate chaos power. Negate. Not drain. We'll need chaos power just to get through that layer of the shield, to cancel it out."

Amy giggled. "Looks like the Doc's big mouth has betrayed him yet again!"

Sally couldn't help but grin. "Okay, okay, but we still need something strong enough to both get through the conventional shielding, and still take them out once it gets through."

Tails nodded. "We have an option there. Plain old magic."

"Magic?"

Tails clenched a fist. "The blood of Merlin Prower flows through me! I am a firstborn son of the second most powerful line of mages Mobius has ever created! And I will give every drop, of both magic AND blood, to protect those dear to me! I am the chosen one, of the Zone Prime! And I will NOT let my friends down! But... I am NOT the one with the power to take the doctors down. YOU are, Aunt Sally. You're the single most powerful magical force in our universe, maybe any of them. You KNOW what I'm talking about..."

"Th-the Source Of All! T-Tails, how did you discover that!? It's been the single greatest Acorn reign secret since my family first took the throne! A-and besides, I rejected it! I refused to let it rule me!"

"Maybe." Tails shrugged. "But that doesn't mean it rejected you."

"Sally..." Any interrupted. "You're new to all this. Think carefully over everything we've told you about the loops. Some loops, you take the place of someone else. And that means you learn things. Now picture those loops going on, and on, until you lose count, and then lose count of the number of times you lost count, and then lose count of how many times you did that. Over. And over. For what may as well be forever. To know the universe, intimately, from all points in space and time at once! Take a good look at Tails. Right in the eyes. And tell me what you see..."

And so she did.

And then Sally saw him. REALLY saw him. As the way he was, not the way he had been. With a tiny smile and a sigh of resignation, she placed her hand against his cheek. "... When did you grow up when I wasn't looking? My god, it only just hit me how much you must have seen with all this looping business. Your eyes... so old..." she laughed as a she wiped away a tear escaping from her eye. "... and yet, you still call me 'Aunt Sally'..."

Tails just smiled and pulled her into a hug. "You just mean that much to me."

And really, that was all that needed to be said.

A minute later, Sally had finished her first good cry from the loops. "O-okay, I'm... I'm sure this will all hit me a lot harder when this is all over, but... I'll do it."

Tails nodded. "Okay then, we'll need this though." he grinned, taking the Sword Of Acorns from his pocket and handing it to her, taking her hand in his own and curling her fingers around the hilt. "Amy, she's going to need the crown as well."

Amy blushed. "Yeah... the crown..."

"... Amy..."

"Funny story there..."

"AMY!"

Amy paused, then started waving her arms frantically. "W-wait! I have an idea for something even better! Where did I leave it... Aha!" she grinned, pulling her prize free from her pocket.

"... Amy, is that...?"

Amy nodded. "The Ring Of Acorns! I've had it just sitting around, recharging... for a few centuries... almost forgot about it completely." she laughed nervously. "It should work as a circlet, and it HAS to have at least one wish by now."

Tails just facepalmed and groaned. "It'll have to do."

Sally couldn't help it, and broke into giggles. "S-so old... and you still act like kids! No wonder it took me so long to catch on!" she laughed.

"Ooh, just take it! We still have a job to do." Amy pouted, plopping the ring down around Sally's head.

Where it promptly burst into dust and light particles, reforming into a golden circlet, a bright blue jewel inlaid in the center.

"... Well, the wish worked. And... oh wow, Aunt Sally, that's a Super Emerald! That should handle the chaos shield no problem! Now, you aren't used to magic, so I'll guide you, and you just... Aunt Sally?"

But Sally wasn't there. In her place was the start of something more. Her eyes were gone, replaced with twin pools of golden light, infinitely deep, a sparkling golden miasma was slowly emerging from her body, and her hair was starting to blow in a wind that was not there.

Sally herself was seeing what she saw the first time she had immersed herself in the Pool Of All. The crowning of her ancestor, the war to unite the feuding tribes into a single kingdom, the meddling of the echidnas, the formation of the planet, the Ancient Walkers themselves!

And then it all stopped. Her vision slowed to a crawl as it reached the point she had rejected it last time. She could FEEL the All, looking at her, inspecting her, asking her 'are you ready to submit?'. And with a (purely metaphorical) deep breath, she answered.

'NO. No I will NOT submit! I will NOT let you rule me! I am Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, and I demand that YOU submit to ME!'

'Well...' the All responded. '... it's ABOUT TIME!'

And the visions resumed. More than resumed, they came faster. She could see her solar system forming, the galaxy, the universe! She could see the first beat of eternity as Time itself began! She could see the raw, primordial power of creation! She could see it weaving and threading together, forming everything that was, and would be. And she could see the very source of it! At the base of each ribbon of creation, linking them all, was the branch of an enormous tre-...

Sally's Self paused, and turned to look at the being with their hand on her shoulder. It was a being she could not quite comprehend, but she could tell it meant her no harm. She got the feeling it was smiling at her.

'THIS FAR. AND NO FARTHER. YOU ARE NOT READY. WHEN ALL IS WELL, I WOULD BE HONORED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US. BUT NOW, YOU ARE NEEDED ELSEWHERE.' the... being, said. And then, it carefully turned her around, and with a gentle push, returned her to her body.

* * *

Hermes leaned back in his chair with a grin, arms folded behind his head.

"Saw you zoning out there for a second. Something up?" Hephaestus asked as he considered a choice between three lines of code.

Hermes shook his head. "It's nothing. I had a free moment while the code was compiling, so I was just checking on an old project I started eons ago."

Hephaestus just shrugged and got back to coding.

"Ah..." Hermes sighed to himself, leaning forward and wiping a tear. "They grow up so fast..."

* * *

Sally's body erupted in a pillar of spiraling gold light, the Sword Of Acorns in her grasp transforming, the hilt etching itself with oak leaves, the pommel shifting to the shape of an acorn shell, and the blade growing thinner and longer. No longer was it her family sword. Now, it was Her sword.

The entire battle halted as Super Sally flicked the three-and-a-half tons of rubble the three of them had been hiding behind aside with a casual backhand.

"You Forget Your Place!" her echoing voice thundered as she pointed at the doctors, her other hand shifting Her sword into an underhand grip. "You Meddle Where You Were Never Meant To Tread, And Show Neither Caution, Nor Compassion. Thus The All Does Make This Decree... SUCK IT!" she roared, flinging the blazing sword like a javelin.

* * *

(Metal Wily Omake by masterofgames)

* * *

"And FURTHERMORE! I, the glorious Doctor Metal Wily, have created THIS!" he boomed, holding up an odd spherical machine in one hand, and a chalkboard in the other.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... BE IMPRESSED, DAMN IT!"

"It would be easier if you told us what it WAS!" Roll frowned, arms folded in defiance.

"O-oh... right... (ahem). THIS, my woefully ignorant friends, is the result of decades of research! My life's work! Have you ever noticed, pray tell, that no matter what the math says about your odds in pulling something off, they never seem to match with the actual success rate? Well THIS-!" he declared, holding the chalkboard up higher. "is raw, mathematical proof that a higher power, that none here can even begin to comprehend, is able to predetermine the outcome of any event, based on what would be the most dramatic! I call this being 'Fate'."

Sonic shrugged. "So?"

Metal Wily resumed the mechanical laughter, holding up the machine. "Because of THIS you fool! With this machine, I can cut off 'Fate' from the flow of events, and enforce the power of raw, untainted math as the most powerful force in this zone!"

Tails started to pale. "Wait, you mean..."

"That's right! No last minute rescue, no pulling it off despite the odds, no power of suspense, and no drama! Here, a one in a million chance, is genuinely one in a million!" he cackled.

* * *

(Crack Omake by LordCirce)

* * *

As Hephaestus' workshop was made home to a relieved god and three excited Valkyries, a lone terminal flickered on in his abandoned office.

"Hit me, will he? Honestly, I work my circuits off, and I get pounded on. He isn't the one with bugs crawling in his circuits. And anyway, he should know enough to see that 0.0001% and 99.9999% mean the same thing, the Probability Generator is coded using the FNC conventions.(*)"

Yggdrasil continued griping to itself as it finished settling the new Loopset into its place in the multiverse.

* * *

*) Fate and Narrative Causality conventions - Basic Coding Conventions discovered by the Norns as the basics behind the Yggdrasil Command Language.


	12. Mega Loops 2

2.1

* * *

"Hey, bro, haven't seen you in a while," Rock greeted his older brother at the meeting spot they'd arranged. If everything went as typical, Dr. Wily would be launching his first invasion about this time next week.

"It's only the third Loop since we beat Metal Wily," Blues observed.

"For you, maybe," Rock informed him. "Roll and I have had a couple dozen by now. Usually it's both of us, but sometimes, like this Loop in fact, it's just one of us Awake. But enough of that, what have you been up to?"

"Well, my first Loop had me as a police robot," Blues told his brother. "I even had to give the 'welcome to the multiverse' speech. Heck, the guy's admin hadn't even bothered to come tell him about the Crash when it happened."

"Ouch," Rock winced. "What about the other one? You said this was your third."

"Superheroes," Blues told his younger brother with a smirk. "Didn't look like any native loopers, and I never identified who was serving as Anchor, but I met an interesting lady. I was called a superhero robot called 'Prototype' and she was a half-asian, half-cherokee superhero known as 'The Shifter'. We fought alongside the heroes 'Mr. Fixer', 'Setback', and 'Chrono Ranger' against a storm of supervillains. It was pretty cool."

* * *

2.2

* * *

Roll wasn't entirely sure where the urge to say 'meep, meep' to Dr. Wily's face came from.

She was even less sure of how some business known as ACME Industries became a literal overnight success immediately afterwards.

* * *

2.3

* * *

Roll hadn't been expecting this when she told her brother she wanted a Loop off from doing the hero thing. Though, in retrospect, perhaps she should have.

"Don't you worry!" the robot wearing her face said cheerfully from outside the high tech cell Dr. Wily was holding her captive in. "I'll take real good care of your brother! Teehee!"

* * *

Rock formed his arm into the Mega Buster and pointed it at the head of the robot impersonating his sister. "Who are you, and what have you done with Roll?" he demanded.

Fake-Roll stared for a second before she started _giggling_. "Cheater," she accused dementedly. "You're all cheaters. Heeheehee!"

"Answer the question," Rock ordered.

Fake-Roll's form wavered as she brought her arm up to point at Rock. "Cheaters should know their plac–"

***BLAM***

Rock had recognized the robot as her disguise fell. Waltz. The murderously insane future-clone of his sister, and who had been lining up her own shot at him before he pulled the trigger first.

"WHAT IS IT WITH YOU ALL AND SHOOTING ME IN THE FACE?!" came the enraged screech from where Waltz was getting back on her feet.

_'Damn,'_ Rock thought to himself as he opened fire again, trying to put Waltz down as quickly as possible. _'Roll was right. She __is looping.'_

* * *

2.4

* * *

If Megatron ever wanted to try and prove that the Loops had a warped sense of humor, this iteration would be Exhibit... J or K. There had been a _lot_ of strange Loops after all.

As it was, he was the head of the Inspecticon Detective Agency in a Loop setting a human might have called the illegitimate offspring of film noir and steampunk. Where he and all other machine lifeforms were of comparable size to humans.

"Well, Mr. Light," he told the figure on the other side of his desk, "it seems you are indeed quite qualified for the position."

Oh, and had he mentioned that he was in the middle of a job interview?

"Thank you," the very human-like robot replied.

"I am concerned with this list of additional skills however," he continued. "They are, shall we say, rather improbably long for someone of your age."

"Let's just say I spend a fair amount of time Awake," the potential hire told him.

Megatron blinked at the inflection. So, the prospective hire was a looper, eh?

"Megatron, sir!" Starscream burst into the office, frantic but respectful.

There was another big, but not unpleasant, difference. The local, and Unawake, version of Starscream still coveted Megatron's position. But the agency's rules and position on the side of the law meant that he did this by making himself the most indispensible member of the agency. Loyal, competent, able, and most of all no backstabbing. Just the occasional hint that Megatron should think about retirement. Even the local Soundwave, elite information hound that he was, had proven less useful in their investigations.

And for Starscream to be this frantic, it could only mean one thing. The one mobster who Megatron's Loop memories told him he'd dedicated his life to putting behind bars, and sworn not to retire until successful. The local mob boss version of his oldest enemy.

"We just got a new case! High profile murder, and it looks like the work of Optimus Crime's gang!"

"Get Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback from forensics together Starscream," he ordered calmly. "Have them ready to leave in five minutes."

Starscream saluted and left the office, allowing him to turn back to the prospective hire. "It looks like you're in luck Mr. Light. I'm prepared to hire you provisionally for the duration of this new case. If your work on it is acceptable then I will hire you to a permanent position. Is this acceptable?"

"Quite," the new hire agreed.

"Then," Megatron stood up and held out his hand, "allow me to welcome you to the Inspecticons Mr. Light."

"Please," the shades-and-scarf-wearing individual replied as he shook Megatron's hand, "call me Blues."

* * *

2.5

* * *

_'...hguoht pu s'gnihtemos taht gnileef taht ekahs t'nac llitS'_ .flesmih ot thguoht kcoR _',lausu sa emaS'_

.yawa detropelet yeht ,taht htiw dnA

"...pleh ruo deen t'nod uoy won ees nac I ...devirra uoy elihw yliW .rD pots ot gniyrt neeb evah eW" .edis sih yb flow tobor eht detacidni lavir erutuf-dna-ecno sih ",elberT s'eh dna ssaB m'I"

.pooL eht htiw pu saw tahw tuo derugif eh litnu dluoc eh sa stneve dna egdelwonk enilesab ot esolc sa kcits ot denimreted ,deksa eh "?uoy era ohW"

.layarteb won-yb-elbativeni-yllaer-tub-neddus sih litnu pu naretev eht tset ot gnikool oreh eikoor eht deyalp ssaB llew woh tsuj gnitseretni tahwemos saw tI .rednirG daM eht fo mrof degamad eht detaefed d'eh ecno 'hctam gnirraps' rieht retfa redluohs sih dehctulc eh sa deralced ssaB fo mrof railimaf eht ",naM ageM ,yas yeht sa doog sa era uoY"

.stniop yek wef a rof evas elbaellam ytterp demees taht tsap stneve ,revewoH .elpmaxe rof nooM aR fo taefed eht ot pu stneve eht sa hcus ,dilos ytterp erew enilemit eht fo strap emoS .tog reve yeht sa esolc sa ro ,enilesab ot gnidrocca enog dah stneve lla ,revewoH

.tnereffid yrev saw gnihtemos niatrec saw eh tub ,ti no regnif sih tup t'ndluoc eH .pooL siht tuoba ffo yllaer saw gnihtemos taht thguoht kcoR

* * *

2.6

* * *

"But I'm really _not_ Mega Man!" the robot pleaded.

"You can't fool _me_ Mega Man!" Dr. Wily jeered at his captured foe. "Such a pathetic disguise and name change can't fool me! I mean, anagramming it to _Game_ Man?! Really?"

"But that really _is_ my name!" the robot wailed.

"Hey Dr. Wily," a familiar voice called out from behind the scientist. "Who are you kidnapping this time?"

"Why, I'm kidnapping _you_, Mega Ma–" Dr. Wily stopped, blinked, and turned around.

"Hooray!" the captive robot cheered. "Mega Man is here to save me!"

"Wha–?" Dr. Wily sputtered in shock. "Bu–? Him–? You–?"

Rock grinned as he prepared to rescue the robot that had been mistaken for him. Dr. Wily's expression was so priceless, he almost wished he'd actually planned this himself.

* * *

2.7

* * *

Rock sweatdropped as he looked upon the... _thing_ being shown to him.

_'I am never letting Auto design my armor ever again,'_ he told himself.

* * *

2.8

* * *

Roll grinned to herself. Her brother was taking the Loop off from heroing like she'd done, and as a result Dr. Wily had begun fielding female versions of many of his robot masters.

And since this was the beginning of his 'seventh' invasion, she'd get the chance to see a female version of Bass.

She was so caught up in anticipation that she almost didn't dodge the shot aimed at her head.

"Aw..." a disturbingly familiar voice rang out. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

"Who are you?" Roll called out, hoping that it wasn't who she thought it was.

"I'm Waltz!" her female opponent chirped pleasantly as she came into view. "And you're Mega Woman! I was told to test you and help out so I could betray you later, but I thought it'd just be more fun to kill you!"

_'Damn it...'_ Roll swore silently as she engaged her insane counterpart.

* * *

2.9

* * *

Roll glared at her opponent and initiated her super adapter with Tango.

"You're going down, nya!" she hissed as she brandished her current form's claws.

_'Damnit dad,'_ she chided mentally at the familiar feline personality drift, _'you said you fixed that...'_

* * *

2.10

* * *

"Think we can pull it off?" Roll asked her brother.

"Most likely," Rock replied. "We're both Awake, Blues is here instead of bouncing around the multiverse, and we've spent a lot of time gauging reactions to the kind of concepts we're going to be introducing to others. It should work long enough for what we want to do."

* * *

Wood Man stared at what his enemy had given him. It was an engraved invitation to a candlelight vigil to be held in a few years.

"Have you gone mad?" he asked the questionably sane robot.

"Possibly," Rock, aka, Mega Man answered. "But I'm also serious. I have... information regarding how our continued existence; yours, mine, Dr. Wily's, and everyone else's; is owed to the sacrifice of another. I think we should be able to put aside our differences long enough to honor that."

"Let's say I believe you..." Wood Man examined possible escape routes from the _clearly_ insane robot. "Where's the proof? And why so far in the future?"

"Well..." Mega Man started, before displaying a hologram with a list of names. Mostly robots. Many of whom were built by his creator Dr. Wily. _And didn't exist yet._ "I have a guest list. And if you don't agree to stand down until the specified date, Wily may never build your later brothers."

Wood Man stared at the evidence before him. Wily had talked about a few of the designs mentioned on the list, but there was no way this blue robot could know, so how...?

"I-If you can convince the others..." Wood Man got his vocal processor working again, "I'll be there."

* * *

"Of course, Roll," Tempo smiled as she accepted the invitations for herself and her mother. She didn't know why, but she could tell this was very important to the other robot.

* * *

"I suppose I'd better get to work," Dr. Light said as he looked over a few names on the guest list he'd yet to finish building. Why his children were so adamant about this was a mystery, but he still couldn't bring himself to deny them.

* * *

"Get bent, robot," Xander Payne tore up the invitation and spat on it. "I'm not buying what you're selling."

* * *

"No," Ra Moon stated before attacking.

* * *

"Why the heck should we–" Needle Man started before being silenced by Shadow Man.

"It is only right to honor the fallen," the alien robot stated solemnly. "No matter if we knew them or not."

Rock let out a relieved breath. After Ra Moon's stubborn, and fatal (to itself) refusal, he was glad that Shadow Man was proving more amicable.

"Can you bring Ra Thor too?"

"We'll do our best," the ninja promised.

* * *

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Why the hell not?!" Doc Robot laughed in agreement as they dueled.

* * *

"NEVER!" Waltz yelled with the only moving part of her still operational, her intact limbs hanging limply from her frame. "I DON'T GIVE RESPECT TO NOTHI–MPHRNG!"

Quint looked grateful as Roll covered her insane clone's mouth with duct tape. "For that alone, I'll agree to this."

"Thanks," Rock smiled. "Though if you could bring the others on this list from the future with you, we'd appreciate it."

Quint raised an eyebrow behind his blue shades as he read over the short list of very specific robot master models.

* * *

"Please, Poppa?" Kalinka asked her father as she read her copy of the invitation Blues had given not only them, but her father's robot masters as well.

* * *

Reverend Dark hadn't extracted his brain to be put into Dark Man this time around. No, he'd only been another of the robot's hologram disguises all along.

"The Church of Robotic Superiority shall honor your request despite your misguided nature."

* * *

The restored contenders for the World Robot Tournament and their respective creators looked at each other in puzzlement, hoping that one of them could make sense of this strange invitation.

"I don't see any reason why not..." Centaur Man allowed.

* * *

"You are serious?" Sunstar gazed upon the earth robot who had come to him with the bizarre proposal. The earth robot who had disabled all of the Stardroids without killing them.

"Always," Mega Man told the living instrument of destruction.

"Very well," the absolute leader of the Stardroids agreed. "But our conflict shall resume in this place one week afterwards until a proper resolution is reached.

"If that's what it takes."

* * *

"And you agreed to this, _why?!_" Dr. Wily railed at the robot he'd built as his own son. The supreme fighting machine known as Bass.

"I lost a bet," Bass folded his arms defiantly.

"Well, _I'm_not agreeing to this!" Wily huffed.

"Roll told me you probably wouldn't," Bass smirked, causing his father to scowl at the reminder that he'd lost not to Mega Man, but his unweaponized _sister_. That girl was _mean_ with a broom. "So, I'm going to make you a bet."

"Like what?" Wily asked irritably, interested despite himself. A set of pictures landed in front of him that caused his eyes to widen. How did anyone know about that unused plan?

"You build these guys and let me fight them instead of Mega Man," Bass grinned eagerly. "If I can beat them without destroying them, then you _and_ them all agree to the deal. If I _can't_, then I tell the Lights no deal and it's back to business as usual."

"You're going to thr–" Wily started in disbelief.

"I. Don't. Throw. Fights," Bass growled fiercely. "No, this is my chance to prove that I'm the best robot you could ever build. I'm bringing my best game, and I expect you to bring yours."

"Prepare to eat those words!" Wily declared energetically. He'd show his uppity son. CRORQ and the nine robot masters he was to command would be victorious!

* * *

"I am uncertain of this," Duo told his friend. "I am glad to help you honor the fallen, but I doubt Slur will be so accommodating."

"Which is why I'm only restoring his voice," Rock replied. "I'm hopeful, not stupid."

"That remains to be seen," Slur shot as the avatar of Evil's vocals came online. "I heard your proposal to my immortal foe, and I wish no part of it. While I relish the continued opportunity to spread Evil, I care nothing for any whose loss has allowed me that chance. Such simpering weakness is not in my nature."

"Had to try," Rock shrugged as he disabled the naturally villainous robot's vocals again. "At least Sword Man and the others were receptive. Even if it Frost Man still doesn't get what's going on."

* * *

"I win, pops," Bass grinned.

"So you did," Dr. Wily slumped despondently.

* * *

"Dr. Light," the alien robots Apollo and Luna declared regally, "in return for the aid you and your family have rendered, the Constellation Droids would be honored to attend the event your son is hosting."

* * *

King stared at the one who'd made this... odd and intriguing offer. "Agreed. Hostilities will cease until one month after the event. The fallen should always be shown proper respect."

"Thank you," Blues bowed formally.

* * *

"You know what I'm thinking?" Mayor Leonardo Dorado grinned widely.

"Does it start with 'wow'?" Rock sweatdropped.

* * *

"Breaking news everyone!" Plum charged into the offices of the B&C Gazette.

* * *

The Emerald Spears, including their leader Xander Payne, had turned on the news to watch the proceedings. Officially it was just to keep tabs on what the robot and his supporters were up to.

At least that's what they'd told themselves.

* * *

What had been planned as a simple gathering of humans and robots both friendly and not to the Light family had somehow grown out of control. The gathered individuals in this area alone were impossible to count and the news cameras of every station on the planet were broadcasting the event worldwide.

It was with a supreme sense of nervousness that Rock stepped up to the microphone and began his speech.

"We are gathered here to honor an unknown existence," Rock spoke solemnly to the crowd before him. "We know not who they were. We do not even know what they were. For that is what our continued existence cost them, their identity."

"The ancient Norse believed that creation was a mighty tree that spanned all the dimensions, from below to above, from past to future, and from here to the hereafter. If that is true, if all of creation is a tree beyond any mortal comprehension, then our universe is no more than a mere branch upon its bough. A branch that at some point was in danger of being lost forever, erased from existence itself."

"But there are other branches upon this tree, and among them were those who saw our peril and stepped forth at great risk to make certain that ours did not fall from this great tree into the endless abyss of nothingness beyond. And one of them paid a price so ultimate that it is beyond comprehension."

"However their loss was not in vain, for it is thanks to them that we do still exist. From their tragedy, we have gained another chance to forge a better future for ourselves. A chance to fight for the shining promise of tomorrow, even if we can never agree on what that means. That is what has been given to us, and that is why we honor those whose sacrifice we can never remember."

"If you feel that your life has any worth at all, then please light a candle for our vigil and observe a moment of silence so that our gratitude can be known to all the heavens and beyond."

Everyone in the crowd and all across the world began to light their candles in memory of something whose loss they did not understand, but still somehow knew was of great importance. In one spot, the immobile figure of Waltz, propped up next to her brother and keeper Quint, shed a single tear of genuine sadness even as her mad viral mind railed silently and impotently behind her disabled vocals. The silence stretched for several minutes among the pinpricks of burning flame before Rock realized that the whole world was waiting for him to break the silence.

"If..." he choked on the palpable emotion in the air. "If there remains anything out there of those who were lost, any kind of existence at all, then I hope they can understand our sorrow for what was lost and our gratitude for what we still have."

"I... I hope they can hear me when I say: Thank you."

* * *

Scattered across the wide multiverse run by Yggdrasil, various beings of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments paused for no apparent reason.

Some were of significant importance to the chain of events that fueled the Loops in their universes, others were of little consequence at all in the grand scheme of things. Some lived so long before the events of the Loops that they were dead and dust by the time they happened, their names little more than legend if remembered at all. Others were set to exist so far into the future that their many times great-grandparents were yet to be born.

Some were in active Loops, some in yet-to-activate areas, others in stable branches, still others in unstable Read-Only portions, and a few in the dangerous quarantined areas of Yggdrasil.

But all stopped what they were doing at the same metaphysical moment within creation and, for reasons they would never truly grasp, said "You're welcome."

* * *

2.1) Sentinels of the Multiverse. And if anyone guessed that 'The Shifter' was the looper with no home Loop Jenny Everywhere, give yourself a cookie.  
_"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."  
_2.2) I wonder if Dr. Wily has any coyote heritage...  
2.3) Waltz is gonna a recurring problem I think...  
2.4) "Larceny is the right of all sentient beings!" (Tagline by EdBecerra)  
2.5) 'Online' does not equal 'fixed'.  
2.6) Mistaken identity.  
2.7) Sound advice.  
2.8) Yep, definitely a recurring problem.  
2.9) I still make no apologies for catgirl Roll.  
2.10) Ideas are very difficult things to kill. They may fade with time or slip out of your mind as quickly as they slipped in, but they always seem to pop up again. Perhaps a bit different due to the passage of time or distance in space, and typically with no clue that they existed previously in any form, but still alive and well.  
The Lost Loop, to us, is the Story Never Written. It does not exist and never will, for the writer who would have written it set it aside and moved on to other projects never to return. But the characters and ideas that made it up still exist. The characters from the Story Never Written were recycled and adapted for other stories, and the ideas reused in a new setting. The Story Never Written still exists in pieces, and those pieces can be found in other stories you are familiar with. You may never know which pieces those are, but they are there nonetheless.


	13. Mega Loops 3

3.1

* * *

Rock smiled sadly to himself as he Awoke. The candlelight vigil last Loop had gone better than he could possibly have expected. Somehow; in between arranging to have his friends, allies, and even most of his worst enemies attend; the entire world had gotten involved. And it had been a glorious, if somber, event where many tears were shed over the loss of those that no one could remember.

The whole thing had been almost all anyone could talk about for the following week until the Loop ended. Hostilities between him and his foes hadn't even gotten the chance to resume.

"Rock?" the voice of his father cut into his musings.

"Yes dad?" he answered. He normally tried to keep the paternal references down until the Loop progressed to the point where he would supposedly be more casual about that relationship, but his emotions were still a little raw from the memorial and he wanted that little bit of personal reassurance that certain precious things remained the same even when the lives of those close to him were reset.

"I know you wanted some time to collect your thoughts after that memorial service you conducted," Dr. Light entered the room sporting a somewhat baffled expression, "but I do believe someone has rewound time. I need your help to investigate this phenomena. Dr. Wily probably isn't responsible since he seems to have no memory of anything odd, but I'm not prepared to discount any possibility at this point."

*Crash*

Both males of the Light family turned to where Roll had dropped a breakfast tray and was staring at her father with tears of happy disbelief in her eyes.

"You..." Dr. Light's daughter and Rock's twin sister trembled with emotion. "You remember?"

"Why yes, I do..." Dr. Light stroked his chin thoughtfully. "And I seem to have this strange recollection of recurring deja vu about some things. This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?"

Both of the Light siblings shook their heads slowly before proceeding to fill their father in on the Loops.

* * *

3.2

* * *

"All I want to know, David, is why?" Dr. Light asked the man who had cost him his children. The man who had presented a time machine as the only method of defeating the challengers from the future. A time machine set to take all within a certain area forty years into the future with no way back. There was a very good chance he wouldn't live long enough to see his children again this Loop, and even though he would likely see them again the next Loop he Awoke in, it still hurt.

"Because you, Wily, and all the rest of your scientist group were my opponents, doctor," David Xanatos of Xanatos Enterprises replied. "Threats, if you will, to my success. All part of the game. Nothing more, nothing less."

It was true. He'd bought out the businesses run by Cossack and Lalinde handily early in his career and removed them as players in the game. Light and Wily were more difficult. Light had enough business savvy to retain control of his company, Light Labs, and enough inventing genius to keep it on the leading edge of technology. Wily was a madman who desired world domination and was ultimately impossible to reason with.

So he'd inserted himself into the little war between the two, playing both sides against each other while building his power base. He'd caught on to the 'Mr. X' gambit and worked to undermine Wily's assets under the identity and gain control of them. By the time of the World Robot Tournament, he had enough of a controlling interest to arrange an 'accident' for the man in disguise.

With Wily out of the picture, his remaining contingencies were easily dealt with, leaving only Light as the last remaining competitor. The man refused to play in the cutthroat realm of business, instead believing he could save the world from itself. And so Xanatos had set out to show him that such naive beliefs had their price.

He'd bought out the Chronos Institute a while back in preparation for the return of Quint and the wild card Waltz, secure in the knowledge that such beings would never stay away for too long. And in any case, it gave him control over temporal manipulation technology which was a boon any way you sliced it. He'd then presented the plan to Light's heroic 'children' as a way to send the two back to the future in a pre-planned location that he and various allies would have forty years to prepare for, knowing their exact time and place of arrival. He told them up front that there would be no way of returning to this time, knowing full well that they would accept that condition if it meant saving human lives. Heroes were so easy to predict after all.

And now with his children gone, Light's fire and drive had dimmed, and with them his genius. It was only a matter of time before he could buy out Light Labs and cement his position as the supreme technology provider on the planet.

"I sometimes wonder, David, if you even know what game you're playing," Dr. Light returned much more calmly than Xanatos would have predicted.

"I always know what game I'm playing," he clarified, a little annoyed with how familiar Light always was, "and I always play to win."

"And what happens when you play a game that cannot be won?" Dr. Light inquired. "Perhaps a game where one loses merely by playing?"

"Such a game does not exist," David Xanatos stated with utmost confidence and turned to leave. He'd indulged the man long enough and he had business to attend to. "Good day to you, doctor."

"Of course there does," Dr. Light spoke to his back. "It's called War."

Xanatos ignored the man as he took the elevator to his penthouse office. The game had been an invigorating challenge, but he'd come out on top in the end. Really, with his capacity for planning and manipulation, there was no other outcome to be had. And to top it all off, he now had no less than forty years in which to cement his power base before the robotic heroes returned. And when they did, he'd be waiting just as promised with enough resources to cement a position as world hero in addition to everything else he'd accomplished in his life. Though he wasn't quite sure if it would serve his plans best for those heroes to be 'tragically slain' in the crossfire or allowed to 'quietly retire'.

His ultimate goal, known only to himself, was to develop technology to make him immortal, but being known forevermore as the man who saved the world would be a nice consolation prize if that didn't pan out.

He idly accepted a letter from his trusted secretary, secure in the knowledge that she would have made certain it contained nothing dangerous before letting him have it. He paid her very well for the extra duties that kind of security entailed in fact and he'd vetted her loyalty every way he knew how. He smiled to himself as he sat down in his comfortable office chair and opened the letter.

The explosion that destroyed his office was later determined to come from a cleaning drone that had supposedly been checked over five times for such things. Xanatos himself survived, but he was rendered blind and deaf as well as severely burned with numerous broken bones.

When the children of Light and their opponents finally reappeared, the promised reinforcements were not there and they had to save the world on their own as they always did. The Loop would last long enough for them to spend one final day with their elderly father.

As for the Unawake David Xanatos, he was confined to a hospital bed while his company collapsed under the squabbling of his subordinates and their power grabs. For the rest of his life, he lived with a message of two words and a one letter signature burned into his mind. The last thing he'd ever seen.

You lose.

- W.

* * *

3.3

* * *

Where was he?

/:SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTICS RUNNING...

He felt groggy... this definitely wasn't Light Labs. The sound was wrong... and he felt different.

/:ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONING

He blinked, and shook his head to clear his vision. He was being unstrapped from a container, and there's a human in front of him. Neither of them matched Dr Wily or Dr Light's profiles though, even in the many loops he had gone through.

"4th Generation Anti-Shadow Weapon Blues, are you functional?"

Great. Yet again he's a robotic weapon. Or at least designed to be one... Before he can respond though, the memories hit him. He's a robot that has been destroying other Robots to prove his strength. More robotic than others, but still with a human resemblance... so that's why he had his Buster still. No shield though, but that could be figured out later. What was more concerning is that the creators seemed to think of the Anti-Shadow Weapons as... simply weapons, not even caring if they developed personalities.

"He isn't responding." Another voice? Ah, another scientist has entered the room.

"Give him some time, sometimes the systems take longer to come online with Blues special programming." The other said. " Blues, are you functional?"

No point in delaying anymore he supposed. "Yes. All systems are functional." He kept his voice devoid of emotion. No point in revealing just what was in their precious weapon.

"Good. We have a special task for you today."

He hated the tone that entered that man's voice when he said special.

* * *

He stepped into the red arena, images flashing through his head of battles fought here. He as glad to see on the way here that while his body looked like a human teenager, he was dressed in red and grey and still had his usual shades, although the lack of a helmet was unusual. Still, he looked across the arena and saw that a girl with blue hair had entered.

"So, they're running the fifth generation already?"

A memory. Apparently in the past he and the other robot had talked, although at the time she had the barest inklings of a personality. And yet before him Blues could see dread, he could see worry... he could see a true soul in her. Was she a looper? From what he had observed from his memories, Shadow Weapons don't develop personalities quickly, and the time stamp of his awakening, while a rather long time, wouldn't have allowed the barely living machine to look so... Human.

The thought ran from his mind though as he saw another robot enter... and another flood of memories. Of a more human unit, numbered 24. And yet she looked the exact opposite, grey, emotionless eyes and an all too robotic step. "Labrys, you are to fight Blues and 24 here." Another of the scientists. "You are to destroy them."

That got him listening. "Why am I fighting them?" Labrys asked.

"#24 is simply the next in line. After you fight her, you are to take on your predecessor and prove your power."

Ah, so that was why. He matched Labrys's name to his update database and indeed he saw that her name was 5th Generation Anti-Shadow Weapon Labrys. It was almost as bad as that one failed loop with Dr... no. Dr Light might not be the best of creators but he didn't deserve to be associated with THAT. And by the look on Labrys' face, she didn't want to fight #24, let alone him. But #24 wasn't going to give her a chance, raising a gigantic sword... and then collapsing to the ground as one of her legs is shot out. Blue blinked... and then looked down at his own smoking buster. That had been pure instinct there.

"Blues, what are you doing? You were not ordered to attack #24!" The scientists again. Time to give them a shock then.

"You never ordered me not to." He slowly allowed himself to smirk. "Besides, I'm not exactly fond how you're treating my sisters here." That's right, Labrys was a lot like a sister to him. Even as he processed that, he felt something invade his programming... they were trying to take control, he could already see his buster arm being forcibly raised.

"Your personal opinions on this don't matter Blues." The scientist responded. Out of the corner of Blues eye he could see the one legged #24 pulling herself up with the sword... she's not fit for battle, so why are they forcing her to battle? "Labrys, destroy them."

...

They want them both utterly destroyed. Not damaged, not rendered unable to battle, destroyed. A waste of robotic life for their own tests. Was he going to let them do this to him, to Labrys? Force him to become a pile of scrap and her into a weapon without a soul?

NO

/: ORGIA MODE ONLINE.

/: OVERRIDING CONTROL. USING PROGRAM "LIGHT".

* * *

3.4 (Hubris Plus)

* * *

Had he been flesh, Rock would have been panting. Instead, he grit his teeth and drew himself up for another round.

"You don't have to do this," he said as he reluctantly raised his Mega-Buster.

This fight was always difficult. Not because of the fight itself so much as because of who he was facing.

"No," his opponent answered. "But I want to."

Facing off against someone he _knew_ should be a friend.

"Wily's just using you!" He implored.

The visor gleaming despite the cavern's darkness.

"You have _no idea_ what it is to be used," came the scathing reply. Motors whirred as drills sprang to life.

This time was harder than the others. This was the first time the armor had shown emerald instead of crimson. The first time his opponent was trailed by long brown hair instead of a yellow scarf.

"Dr. Lalinde–" he tried to begin, but knew it was a mistake almost the second the words were out of his mouth.

"_Dr. Lalinde_," Fault Woman roared, "took away everything that made me _me_ and used my body like a _puppet_!" Her drill smashed into the wall where his head had been an instant before, the upgraded alloys driving through the stone as though it were tissue paper. The room shuddered, dust drifting down from the ceiling.

"You'll bring the whole place down!" He shouted, internally reprimanding himself a moment later for preying on what he knew to be a phobia of Tempo's.

"_Good!_" She snarled, "I'd rather be dead and buried than alive like _that_." She tore her arm free of the wall and turned to stalk towards him. "I remember it, you know," she went on, tone almost becoming conversational. "What it's like to move and think and talk, but not _feel_. Anger, hate, fear... They aren't good, but they're _so much better_ than nothing."

"I owe Dr. Wily everything for saving me from that. He plugged me back in, made me _me_." She lifted an arm to the side as she strode towards him, drill biting into wall almost casually.

"You'll not switch me off again."

* * *

3.5 (Masterweaver)

* * *

"...Is..." Roll stared. "Is Wily _singing_?"

Rock shrugged helplessly. "All the robot masters did. Why not him too?"

"He's actually pretty good," Blues observed.

* * *

3.6

* * *

Roll sighed as she watched Bass walk off happily. She'd agreed to another date that would never happen after his help against Dr. Wily's latest hair-brained scheme.

She'd been keeping track of how long their Loops lasted, and once again, the date was set for after they were certain to 'd agree to an earlier outing except... Except she was waiting for him to start looping first. Otherwise, what was really the point? It wasn't like she had the biological urges humans did or anything...

* * *

3.7

* * *

Joshua Blevins, more commonly known as Chance Fortune to his friends both in-Loop and out (heck, he tended to refer to himself as the latter in his own head more often than not), was once again at the Burlington Academy for the Superhuman. Regardless, he'd stepped through the teleporter as he always did, had the encounter with the creepy alien-possessed guy he'd have to deal with later in the school year, and was now waiting for his friend and future teammate to come through.

He was idly betting on whether or not the Mars-native super-brain Percy, known to most as Space Cadet, would be Awake when the teleporter activated and someone wholly unfamiliar stepped through.

"You're not Percy," Chance found himself saying before he could stop his mouth.

"No," the boy with the sunglasses, yellow scarf, and pompadour replied evenly. "You holding Anchor here for him?"

"Something like that," Chance replied sheepishly, recognizing the standard looper check for what it was. "Anyway, we should get going. My other friend's going to be arriving soon and he likes to put on a show, even when not Awake. I'm Chance by the way. Chance Fortune."

"Blues Light," the stranger replied.

* * *

"Wait," Blues, or Proto Man now that orientation and costume generation had finished, cut into the explanation of the Loop setting and his hosts, "you mean to tell me that you got into a school for training teams of superheroes and you _have no powers_?"

"Yep!" Shocker, Chance's second friend who'd arrived being escorted by a police drone from super-juvie, slapped Chance on the back proudly. "Never gets any from other Loops either and he's still the best leader the Outlaws could hope for!"

"Yeah," Chance rubbed his masked head in embarrassment. "I got in originally because my mentor sent in a new application claiming I have unnaturally good luck, and since luck's a pretty fickle power no one can prove I don't have it. Anyway, most Anchors seem to have traits that follow them no matter where they Loop, and mine is apparently my total lack of genuine superpowers."

"Impressive," Blues raised an eyebrow behind his shaded visor. "Though I imagine that comes with plenty of downsides."

"Yeah," Chance admitted. "I can't even generate my own subspace pocket. Space Cadet, the guy you're replacing, had to make me a device that generates it for me. I'm not entirely certain how it works either, just that it does."

"How long have you been looping?" Blues decided to ask. Aside from the member he was replacing, the entire future team of super students was Awake. Psy-Chick, Chance's psychic-powered girlfriend; Shocker, the juvenile delinquent who could shoot electricity from his eyes on his second chance with the law; Gothika, the magically powered witch; Iron Maiden, the battle-hungry amazonesque daughter of Odin and the god-like heroine Steel Valkyrie (who also happened to be the Outlaws' future trainer most Loops, and one of the school's board members, which was also the most prominent superhero team in the world); and the morally rigid yet physically stretchable Private Justice. Next to that, being a human-like super robot prototype was practically normal.

"Not long compared to most," Chance admitted. "It was just me at first, then Space Cadet and Shocker started looping, and then the Crash happened and the rest of the team got shaken out. I know hearing about it was pretty scary. How'd you handle it?"

"I had to watch it happen," Blues replied bluntly. "I'm from the Loop they were trying to get online. Some reality virus contaminated and merged a bunch of local villains and then tried to sacrifice the visiting Anchor and both our universes to attain admin-level power. And I was captured, restrained, and utterly helpless to stop it. It was only divine intervention that eliminated it and preserved my own universe."

The table was completely silent as they all digested that.

"It is a sobering reminder of all that this school tries to prepare us to fight," Psy-Chick replied as she grasped Chance's hand comfortingly. "Most of the threats we face may have less permanent repercussions while the Loops are in place, but the general concept is the same."

Gothika nodded. "Vile forces with no care for the lives of others will forever seek their own selfish ends to the detriment of all around them. We must forever do all in our power to see that they fail."

"Damn straight!" Iron Maiden pounded the reinforced steel table emphatically, denting it.

"Justice must always be served!" Private Justice declared, trying his best to strike a heroic pose. "It shall be our honor and our privilege to have you as a member of our team!"

"Thanks," Blues smiled gratefully. "So what's this place like?"

"As you might have guessed," Chance smiled wryly, "we're a superhero school. Lots of team training and mock missions interspersed with actual threats to the school and/or the world at large. Fall freshman semester we normally face off against The Invincibles, the obligatory team of super-jerks, in the winter competition and usually beat them, often barely due to Superion's broken power set. Then we end up in the Shadow Zone, the extra-dimensional super-villain prison, over winter break. After that, it's anyone's guess what we have to face. Loop usually runs until graduation day unless I die."

Blues chuckled for a bit. "Would any of you believe this is my first time in school?"

The other six at the table blinked, before they began laughing good-naturedly.

"Man," Shocker put his arm around the red and gray armored robot's shoulders companionably, "after this place everywhere else will just seem plain boring!"

* * *

3.8

* * *

Dr. Light tried frantically to stop his latest creation from devouring all of his equipment. Honestly, he'd just been trying to invent a robot to help take the burden of fighting off of his children during those Loops he was Awake along with them. Using compactor technology seemed like the most logical choice for a robot master meant to counter other robots. But for some reason the programming had a major glitch when it came to recognizing what constituted a valid target.

All in all, it seemed like Garbage Man just wasn't going to work out.

* * *

3.9

* * *

Dr. Wily cackled to himself as he worked in his makeshift lab down in the ruins. He didn't know where his familiarity with Ra Moon's technology came from, and at the moment he didn't care. All that mattered was that he'd managed to cobble together a way of boosting the alien machine's power exponentially, far beyond what he could have managed if he'd had to learn the way Ra Moon's technology worked from scratch.

With but the push of a button, he would prove himself the greatest power in all the world beyond any shadow of any doubt!

The mad doctor laughed, completely unheeding of the malevolent glow Ra Moon was producing as he activated the device.

And everything in the world, living or otherwise, shut down.

Including him.

* * *

3.10

* * *

Rock blinked as he Awoke. The last thing he remembered, he'd been at the city rededication where Mayor Leonardo Dorado was to rename it in his and his sister's honor.

And now he seemed to be in a metal structure, a space station if he wasn't misreading the sensations. He was then distracted as his internal diagnostic came back.

"Why am I a gumball machine?" he asked in confusion.

"Because it was what I had handy when I made you," and unfamiliar human, Joel according to his Loop memories, responded.

"Could be worse," the voice of his sister deadpanned and Rock turned to see a vaguely feminine patchwork something-or-other talking to him. His Loop memories told him this was Roll, even though she looked nothing like herself. "You could be a horrid mish-mash."

"Now, now you two," Joel tried to placate the two small robots when the monitor in the room sprang to life.

"Speaking of horrid mish-mashes..." Rock found himself saying as the face of a frizzy-haired scientist that wasn't Dr. Wily filled the view. A quick check of his Loop memories told him this was Dr. Forrester, the one responsible for stranding Joel in space so he had to make himself and his sister for company not to go crazy. Rock's Loop instincts didn't like the guy, and he really couldn't bring himself to disagree with them.

"Hey Dr. Forrester!" Joel greeted cheerfully, happy to talk with anyone, even his tormentor.

"I hope you called to tell us when you're gonna let us down," Roll sniped at the man.

"Oh, I'll be happy to bring you down," the madman grinned. "Just as soon as your minds are bent to my will so you can help me do the same to the rest of the world. Anyway, I hope you're ready for today's movie. It's a real piece of garbage called..."

Rock tuned the man out as he lined up the rant with his Loop memories. The guy apparently thought he could break the will of humanity by forcing them to watch terrible movies, and the only thing standing in his way was the fact that Joel, along with the two of them, managed to enjoy themselves with snarky wit and general tomfoolery.

As far as he was concerned, it was a step up from how he normally had to save the world. This might actually be kind of fun.

* * *

3.1) Guess who's Awake. _And_ Dreaming.  
3.2) It's worth restating that this isn't looping Xanatos.  
3.3) Blues doesn't stand for this kind of thing. Nope.  
3.4) Someone other than Blues was fixed by Dr. Wily this time.  
3.5) I imagine Dr. Wily has a pretty darn good (or maybe evil?) singing voice actually.  
3.6) ...This is rather depressing if you think about it.  
3.7) I did this as part of my library challenge (writing a Loop snippet based on a book you read from your local library). The book in question is Chance Fortune and the Outlaws by Shane Berryhill.  
3.8) Where's Captain N when you need him?  
3.9) *wince*  
3.10) The Megaverse's first Safe Mode Loop.


	14. Mega Loops 4

4.1 (I am writing to tell you all that I am abandoning the Mega Man Loops and shall henceforth be writing about the drama that the Yggdrasil admins get up to instead.)

* * *

"You have to hide me!" Coyote heard before a thoroughly distressed and weeping female form tackled him back into his office, somehow managing to land them both in a compromising position. "My husband's after me with those _horrid_ valkyrie hussies of his! It's _so_ terrible! Booohoohooooo!"

_'Aphrodite,'_ the trickster god mused, content to let a beautiful female form, no matter how distasteful the actual personality was underneath the pretenses, cuddle up to him while he mused over the situation. Hermes has put out a 'prank at will' hit on the love goddess recently and while the notion of 'trickster solidarity' was laughable at best, the loose-knit inter-pantheon group knew when another was being serious. And Hermes was _very_ serious about this.

Apparently the goddess had tried a spiteful prank on her husband in the middle of a critical operation where such a distraction could have resulted in an entire branch of Yggdrasil collapsing. Coyote loved a good prank as much as the next trickster god, but even he knew there were lines you just _didn't_ cross. Certainly not without expecting a world of pain in retaliation. A lesson he himself had learned from painful experience.

Plus, her husband Hephaestus was one of the _smart_ gods. The idea of tricksters having rules might have been patently ridiculous, but staying on the good side of someone highly intelligent was always a sound idea. As was staying on the good side of the guy who made the best toys.

"Well, my dear," the old trickster chuckled to himself in a way that would have sent a more sensible being to running as far and fast as they could, "it's quite simple! Your husband and his cohorts are looking for the most beautiful goddess in the heavens, correct?"

"Yes!" Aphrodite beamed at him, utterly clueless as to what he might be planning. "You _must_ save me from the barbaric ravagings they'll inflict on me! I'm too beautiful to suffer such indignities!"

"No worries, madam!" Coyote's grin grew wider. It was almost _too_ easy. "If they are looking for the most beautiful goddess, then all we need do is make you the _ugliest_ goddess! They'll never suspect a thing!"

Coyote cast a plethora of memory-to-photograph spells in rapid succession. The look on Aphrodite's face was going to be this season's best seller by a wide margin.

* * *

4.2 (Yeah, right! Now let's get on with some Megaverse April Foolishness!)

* * *

Roll grumbled to himself as he faced off against the president of the Percussions. This had been an aggravating Loop for several reasons. For one, he was a male model this Loop instead of a female one, originally built as a harpsichordist. An Unawake Rock, built for proctology, was similarly his sister instead of brother.

For another, all of the robot masters and their weapons and weaknesses had been flipped around without rhyme or reason. For example, Sheep Man had ended up weak to Spring Coil which had been gained from Hard Man during Dr. Wily's π(Pi)th invasion.

The latest crop had consisted of Picket Man, Turbo Man, Hyper Storm H, Centaur Man, Shark Man, and Ra Thor with their weapons being ugly unrelated to the houses looted by their names and appearances.

And then there was their president. The aquamarine and purple armor and the red shaded visor with the green helmet crest jumped an ensemble that slapped Quint. Except the president of the Percussions was female.

_'Please don't secretly be Waltz...'_ Roll prayed as his opponent brought out the bulldozer/slinky hybrid known as Sakugarne to begin the battle.

* * *

"Just what do you think you're doing?" the voice of Hephaestus interrupted the admin using his terminal.

"Waiting for you to get back?" Coyote tried hopefully. Maybe if he played innocent, the God of the Forge wouldn't notice the contents of the dis–

"And fiddling with the Loop scenario parameters," the divine smithy crossed his arms challengingly.

_'Worth a shot,'_ Coyote winced at being caught. He'd honestly thought he had more time. "Eh, heh... April Fool's?"

Hephaestus's scowl deepened. "You have thirty seconds to explain why I should not make an example of you."

"You wife came to me pleading for me to hide her from you," Coyote began.

"I care not for her imagined worries or current location," the volcano god snorted in contempt. "I am in too good a mood to let her, or you, ruin it with inane antics."

"Yeah, I figured you weren't actually after her for real. You volcano gods aren't exactly subtle when you're mad," Coyote allowed nervously before remembering that his grace period was dwindling fast. "But I told her I could help, since if you were looking for the 'most beautiful' goddess, then I would hide her as the _ugliest_ goddess!"

Hephaestus continued to stand there impassively, but his lack of aggression despite Coyote's time expiring was promising.

"I have pictures," Coyote grinned, producing a respectable album. One quite professionally bound and designed. "On the house for you and your lovely companions if you can find it in yourself to forget this little incident."

Hephaestus looked interested in the trickster's offer, but he had a duty first. "If you have done no lasting harm, then deal."

"Cross my heart, hope to fry, stick a teatray in my eye," Coyote promised as he handed the album over. "I'll drop some more with your companions on my way out."

* * *

4.3 (Masterweaver)

* * *

"So what you're saying is, in order to have your weapon, I need to defeat you."

Ice Man rolled his optics. "Yes, you pathetic bundle of circuits! Honestly, why did Lightbright upgrade _you_?"

"I'm just trying to clarify here." Rock crossed his arms. "If I do not have your weapon, you have not been defeated."

"That would be a logical conclusion."

"So if I defeated you, I would have your weapon."

"You're very circular in your reasoning, but yes."

"Thus, if I have your weapon, I have defeated you."

Ice Man sighed. "Yes. That's exactly it Rock. That's it."

The blue bomber nodded, shifted his Mega Buster, and froze a portion of the wall solid.

Ice Man gaped in surprise, staring at the wall for so long he almost missed Mega Man walking away. "That... Hey! Wait, where are you going?!"

"I have your weapon, therefore you are defeated," Rock replied, fighting to keep a straight face. "Quod erat demonstrandum, as the Romans say."

"What-No! You're supposed to take my weapon, not just copy it!"

"You really want me to rip you apart to get at your icing mechanism?"

"Yes! Wait, no." Ice Man shook his head. "I'm not defeated! Walk away and I've won!"

"And yet you have demonstrably lost by your own logic." Rock shook his head sadly. "Don't throw a tantrum about it."

* * *

4.4 (Terrace)

* * *

Rock had found dealing with the various Robot Masters significantly easier over the course of successive Loops. His ability to recall the weapons he'd copied off of them in the baseline, without needing to fight them first, meant that even those who'd been an utter bitch to fight in the baseline, like the upcoming Airman, only required minor amounts of effort now.

What was _really_ annoying were the variant Loops where the Robot Masters changed in some way. Dr. Light noted that many of those incidents might be the result of Wily Dreaming of info and technical schematics that he wouldn't ordinarily come up with for _years_. Shaking things up from routine might be mentally healthy to some, but Rock _liked_ predictable opponents. They tended to be less lethal.

His first hint that something had changed came when he started hearing music on his approach to Airman. It was only when the Japanese lyrics started that Rock brought a hand to his face.

"Wily, you _asshole_." He was all but _screaming_ to Rock that this batch of Robot Masters was upgraded...

* * *

4.5

* * *

"So Auto's been making his own robot masters this Loop?" Rock asked his father.

"Indeed he has," Dr. Light replied. "There have been some bugs of course, but the designs are rather interesting."

"Who's he made so far?"

"Let's see," Dr. Light pondered. "Surprise Man, a robot that can change appearance in an instant; Shake Man, a blender themed robot; Giga Auto, a 57-meter tall replica of Auto himself; Massage Man, a robot created to give massages; TV Man, who has a television as his head with a face shown in the screen; Watermelon Man, a watermelon-themed robot; the submarine-themed Submarine Man; and his latest creation who he's only told me is called Sexy Man. He's been showing them to Bass."

All of a sudden Bass stormed in, lipstick marks all over his face (Roll could be heard laughing hysterically in the other room), and stomped up to the father and son duo.

"You. Will. _Never._ Let. Auto. Build. Another. Robot. Master. **_EVER._**"

* * *

LOOP TITLE:

4.6

* * *

AWAKENING:

Hotaru blinked as she Awoke in a strange place. It... looked like one of her father's labs, but fairly different from what she was used to. Shaking her head, she realized she was in some kind of alcove with wires feeding from the wall into various points of her... oh.

Apparently she was a robot.

* * *

JOINING THE TEAM:

Hotaru: So we're all robots?

Usagi: Seems like it so far. It's weird. Luna's a robo-cat and has actually been tolerable. It's my 'dad' that's been on my case about my study habits.

Hotaru: Who's your dad?

Usagi: Some Dr. Light fellow. Like that video game from the Hub. Which would be a cool change of pace really. I could have super-awesome lasers to shoot youma with! Pew! Pew!

Hotaru: *giggles* Well, any problem with me joining the senshi early again? Assuming that's what we are this time?

Usagi: Not at all! Watching Beryl soil herself when she sees the 'senshi of death and rebirth' _never_ gets old!

* * *

CUT TO: SCHOOL.

Usagi: Why do I still have to go to school?! I'm a robot!

Hotaru: I'm more worried about why I can't clearly remember anything between you saying I could join the team and ending up here.

Usagi: But Hotaru! It's schoooooolll... Boring, boring, I've-had-these-dang-lessons-for-foorreevveerr school!

Hotaru: And now you're reminding me why I didn't hang out with you more in the baseline.

Usagi: *chagrined* Sorry.

* * *

CUT TO: AFTER SCHOOL.

Usagi: *confused* I see what you mean about not clearly remembering things between certain points. I just skipped school while still going.

Hotaru: I know, right?

Rei: *sighs* Another messed-up Loop with the meatball head. How did we even meet this time?

Ami: No clue. I'm more concerned with the fact that we're all robots.

Makoto: I'm not! I wanna see just how strong I am! I bet I can punt a youma through three walls, no senshi powers needed!

Minako: I hope I've got some cool lasers! Pew! Pew!

Usagi: That's what I said!

* * *

CUT TO: DOWNTOWN

Usagi: *eyes bugged out while looking at a display on her arm* Holy cow! Is that my allowance?!

Minako: *looking over Usagi's shoulder* Holy boiled ravioli! What does your dad _make_?!

Ami: *confused* Weren't we just leaving school...?

Hotaru: Yeah, that seems to be a _thing_ this Loop.

Usagi & Minako: Shopping Spree!

Rei: Someone stop them!

{Sudden explosion heralds the arrival of a new character}

Rei: Not exactly what I meant, but I'll take it.

Jadeite: BWA-HAHAHAHAHA! Tremble in fear, ye mortals! For I am Jadeite of clan Wily!

Makoto: That explains that 'W' crest on his uniform...

Jadeite (ignoring interruptions): General supreme of the Dark Technocracy! Surrender your spiritual energy to power our mighty machines of war now or be crushed under the mechanical might of my youma masters!

{Civilians run screaming}

Makoto: Wait, I just realized. None of us have our transformation pens yet, do we?

Usagi: Doesn't really matter. We can just get them out of our subspace pockets.

Hotaru: Wait a second on that. I think I found something in my data banks.

Jadeite: Go and show these humans why it is foolish to resist! Jeweled Woman Morga!

{A robotic youma appears, what looks like jewels sticking out of her body in various places}

Hotaru /accesses her databanks

Hotaru's databanks /Experimental Public Defense Transformation Protocols 'Silver Millenium' online.

Hotaru /begins transformation subroutine

Hotaru's databanks /Acknowledged. Transformation to Saturn Woman commencing.

* * *

COMMERCIAL BREAK

* * *

BIRTH OF A HEROINE:

{Hotaru's form is consumed by a flash of light and when it subsides, reveals that she is clad in armor designed in the style of her baseline senshi mode complete with Silence Glaive style polearm}

Hotaru (jumping defiantly in front of the robotic youma): Halt!

Jadeite: Ah, it appears some sport has arrived.

Hotaru: You have no right to terrorize the people of this fair city, nor any claim upon their spiritual energy! Cease your actions and leave, or be punished accordingly! So say I, Saturn Woman!

Jadeite: Jeweled Woman Morga! Destroy the interloper!

Usagi: Quick! Figure out how Hotaru did that or we're going to miss out!

* * *

FIGHT SEQUENCE:

While Usagi and the others are figuring out how to trigger their native transformations, Hotaru as Saturn Woman duels the youma master Jeweled Woman Morga. Jeweled Woman Morga unleashes fell energy from the jewels in her body which Hotaru deflects with her polearm. Eventually seeing an opening, Hotaru rushes her opponent and cleaves her in twain. Outraged, Jadeite vanishes from the scene vowing revenge.

* * *

CUT TO: SHRINE LABS.

Rei: Shrine Labs? Really? My 'grandfather' is some sort of scientist who studies shinto mystic energies? I'm supposed to be an experimental robot that uses them? How in the world is that supposed to work?

Ami: You really need to check your Loop memories earlier on.

Rei: How? We keep skipping around everywhere and we didn't have enough time at any of them for me to take a few moments!

Usagi: Geez Rei, take a chill pill. The important thing is that we learn how to do what Hotaru did today or we're going to miss out on all the adventure!

Minako: Yeah! And we should also find out where Mamoru, Haruku, Michiru, and Setsuna are hiding. I bet they're just like us this time, even if they aren't Awake.

Makoto: No idea about the first three, but my Loop memories recall a newspaper article on something called the Chronos Institute where they study the possibility of time travel. How much you want to bet Setsuna's holed up there?

* * *

4.7 (Hubris Plus)

* * *

Rock was never quite certain how to deal with the rare variant Loops where Wily was handled without him having to do anything. On the one hand, it wasn't often that he got a genuine vacation. On the other, those Loops were almost always among the strangest, not to mention the odds of Wily picking up a new trick or a new threat replacing him.

This one, he thought he was going to like. The point of divergence seemed to have been that Blues had never had a faulty power core, which had led to the military putting in an order for robots with full AIs instead of the stripped down versions they usually ended up with. All that had led to a very different news report on the morning following Wily's first attack.

"For those just joining us, last night the newly unveiled Light Laboratory Robot Masters were hijacked by former business associate Dr Albert Wily and used to seize control of vital facilities across the city." The screen showed footage of the six Robot Masters in action as they terrorized the citizenry. "Possessing top of the line capabilities, advanced AI, and impervious to conventional arms, this attack would have been devastating were it not for the speedy and heroic actions of the Sniper Joes.

"Also created by Light Laboratories, Sniper Joe is the code name for America's elite, highly advanced special robotics force. It's purpose: To defend human dignity and freedom against all who would oppose it." A window popped up next to the reporter, displaying various shot of Sniper Joes in action. "While primarily designed as an anti-terrorism unit, Sniper Joes have frequently been deployed in relief efforts across the globe thanks to various environment adaptation equipment." The window switched to Joes operating at the sites of landslides, shipwrecks, and even high altitude storms via jet packs.

"Yes, fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble, over land, and sea, and air, you can rest assured that Sniper Joe will be there." The window switched to much more recent footage of a group of Joes leading Wily out of his base in handcuffs.

"Sniper Joe: A real automaton hero." The various Joes noted the cameras observing them, nodded to each other, and pumped their fists in the air.

**"YO JOE!"**

* * *

4.8

* * *

Blues looked around himself as he strolled along what appeared to be the bottom of the sea. Surviving underwater wasn't that big a deal for him, but the surroundings were strange. It looked as if there were dwellings down here, houses, stores, and... was that a pineapple with a front door in the distance?

Shaking his head, he walked up to the sign at the edge of the submerged town and began to read.

_Welcome to Bikini Bottom_

Underneath it, there was what appeared to be a recent addition.

_Also known to Loopers as the Tenth circle of Hell. Leave now while you have the chance. If, for some incredulous reason you decide to stay, avoid the Pink One and the Yellow One. If you have further questions or concerns it is not my problem, go bother someone else._

_ - Squidward, local Anchor._

Blues blinked as he processed that, and then turned away from the town and began walking. Saving the world was one thing, but he had a very strong feeling that such services weren't needed here.

* * *

4.9

* * *

As Rock blasted his way into the robot master's lair, he reflected that he wasn't sure what to think about this new set of Wily bots. They weren't variations on familiar opponents like some of the 'new' foes he'd faced before in the Loops. Instead they were completely new designs he'd never seen before. Dr. Wily appearing on a hijacked broadcast to issue his challenge in a sombrero hadn't happened before either.

"¡Damas y caballeros, the challenger!" a voice called out as Rock was blinded by a spotlight in his face. "¡El Bombardero Azul! ¡Defender of humanity and slayer of innocent robots! ¡MEGA MAN!"

Rock halted to let his optics adjust to the glare of the spotlight on him and noted from the gathered audience of cheering robots around a wrestling ring that Dr. Wily's creations were apparently also completely crazy.

"¡And the defending champion!" Rock's masked Guts Man-sized opponent continued the introductions. "¡Dr. Wily's supreme unarmed combat model! ¡The finest luchador ever assembled! ¡NACHO MAN!"

Good circuits, he could smell the cheese from here...

* * *

Rock had to admit that the newest female robot master was rather elegant. In addition to the obligatory mexican skin tones and facial structure characteristic of this set of robot masters, she had a lovely and colorful dress that flowed along with the salsa-style dance moves she was named af–

The super fighting robot's eyes widened as the fabric of Salsa Woman's dress sliced through a solid steel pole and he barely managed to duck and slide out of the way of the unexpected weapon. He really needed to stop admiring his opponent and start disabling her.

* * *

Rock stared at the robot master across from him. He wore a sombrero over his mustached face and a mexican-style poncho designed to look like a taco shell, the layered tassels appearing to be taco fixings from a distance.

"You must be Taco Man," he stated.

"¿Taco Man...?" the robot master replied dangerously. "_¡¿Taco Man?!_"

Rock backed up a little in response to the sudden mad ferocity the previously calm robot master was displaying.

"¡I am Taco Man _SUPREME!_" he yelled, pulling an arm-mounted shotgun from under his poncho. Rock wasn't sure, but the way the poncho hung, it looked like that might be the robot's only arm. "¡And this is my _Boomstick Supreme!_"

Rock's eyes widened as he dodged a blast that took a chunk out of the wall the size of his torso. He really should have been expecting something like this after Salsa Woman. Why did so many of Dr. Wily's silliest creations also have to be the most dangerous?

* * *

Rock tore down the corridor while doing his best to avoid the flames from the robot master with a pepper for a head.

"¡HAHAHAHA! ¡Run, run as fast as you can! ¡You can't escape from the red hot Chili Man!"

* * *

Rock stared as he jumped back from the cloud of corrosive gas. Did the cylindrical Burrito Man just fire that from his...?

Snorting in disgust, he switched to the Red Hot Chili Flame weapon and took aim. Coming from _there_, the gas _had_ to be flammable.

* * *

"Very funny Wily..." Rock muttered as he worked his way through the priest-like, gourd-shaped Pozole Man's area.

A robot master themed on a ritual dish made with a base of maize at the center of a maze. He probably should have seen that one coming.

* * *

Rock dodged frantically as the rotund Pan Man's Sugar Death Bombs exploded around him. He'd puzzled over the meaning of the X-shaped design on the robot master's torso for a bit before his dad had told him that sugared bread with a cross pattern was a traditional dessert served on Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.

The robot master was certainly doing its best to add _him_ to that list.

* * *

"So, you're Guacamole Man?" Rock asked the... giant robotic avocado.

"¡Indeed, I am!" the fruit-based robot master declared proudly. "¡You may have beaten the others, but I shall not fall so easily! ¡GUAC CANNON!"

Rock narrowly avoided the surprise attack and returned fire, only for his shots to splash harmlessly off the robot's thick pliable skin.

"¿How do you like my all-natural defense?" the robot master taunted as he continued to blast green goo at the blue bomber. "I'm practically impervious to your Mega Buster, ¡but my Guac Cannon will have you rendered helpless in short order!"

"Not if I change things up!" Rock declared as he switched weapons and dove for the suddenly panicking Guacamole Man trailing lengths of razor-sharp 'cloth'. "Salsa Slicer!"

* * *

Rock checked his weapon energy levels as he waited for Dr. Wily to bring out his latest Wily Machine. Bean Gas was running low, but at least he was able to shoot it from his arm cannon rather than some other part of his body; Salsa Slicer was as well, but that was mostly due to it being so dang useful against many of the robot mooks; Nacho Libre was nearly full, but the wrestling-style maneuver was situational at best; Blessing of Maize was similarly almost untouched; Guac Cannon and Red Hot Chili Flame were both about half full; and he'd only had to use a few shots each of the Sugar Death Bombs and Boomstick Supreme.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Wily laughed as his mechanical war machine descended from the ceiling. "You may have beaten my Mexican Masters and my fortress guardians Mega Man, but even you can't hope to defeat... _this!_"

Rock fought the urge to facepalm. Dr. Wily's ultimate war machine this time was...

...a giant piñata.

* * *

4.10

* * *

Rock sighed. "I think it says something that with everything we've tried to reform Dr. Wily, _this_ is the only one that's worked."

"I know what you mean," Roll sympathized. "Sure, he's been a pretty decent guy some Loops, and he usually cares about his creations at least a bit, but he _still_ always ends up the villain and tries to take over the world. It's actually kind of depressing if you think about it."

"Which is precisely why we _shouldn't_," Dr. Light declared. "At least not too hard. Let us instead enjoy the affirmation that Albert _does_ possess the capacity to be a hero and have some fun with our chosen roles. Now, what points of the city should we send our forces out to seize this time? Careful planning of our next reign of terror is a must. We don't want anyone actually getting _hurt_ after all."

* * *

4.11 (Leonite)

* * *

Rock awoke and looked down at himself. All he saw was that instead of his blue, his body seemed to be decorated in greens... he seemed rather short too... and was that? Oh... "You've got to be Mega kidding me."

* * *

4.12 (OathToOblivion)

* * *

"Rock?"

"Yes, Roll?"

"Why are we playing soccer?"

"...I have no idea. But, hey! It's fun at least, right?"

* * *

4.1) April Fool's! Okay, tally time. How many of you actually fell for this?  
4.2) Fun with Mad Libs. The uncompleted version is included on as a bonus below.  
4.3) Get Equipped with Logic Bomb!  
4.4) The music playing is "Airman ga Taosenai" (aka "I Cannot Defeat Airman").  
4.5) Dr. Auto's robot masters are from one of the manga. They're... Patently ridiculous is a nice way to put it. Also, Auto's not Awake. He's naturally this crazy. Bass isn't Awake either yet, not that he'd *want* to remember this...  
4.6) The Megaverse gets some visitors. Done in Shadowjack's style.  
4.7) Well, they *are* Government Issue...  
4.8) The sign was written for the Misc Loops by AbZHz101  
4.9) Mexican night in the Megaverse. Thanks to EdBecerra, BadHabits, and OathToOblivion for the initial ideas.  
4.10) It's the most peaceful hostile takeover ever!  
4.11) Ah, there he is. Now where did Garbage Man get to?  
4.12) "Yes."

* * *

BONUS: The uncompleted Mad Lib from 4.2

* * *

Roll grumbled to himself as he faced off against the [position of authority] of the [Word ending in a 'shun' sound]s. This had been an aggravating Loop for several reasons. For one, he was a male model this Loop instead of a female one, originally built as a [job]. An Unawake Rock, built for [different job], was similarly his sister instead of brother.

For another, all of the robot masters and their weapons and weaknesses had been flipped around without rhyme or reason. For example, [Robot Master] had ended up weak to [Master Weapon] which had been gained from [second robot master] during Dr. Wily's [number from 1-10]th invasion.

The latest crop had consisted of [third robot master], [fourth robot master], [fifth robot master], [sixth robot master], [seventh robot master], and [eighth robot master] with their weapons being [word ending in 'ly'] unrelated to the [noun]s [verb]ed by their names and appearances.

And then there was their [same position of authority]. The [color] and [second color] armor and the [third color] shaded visor with the [fourth color] helmet crest [verb]ed an ensemble that [verb]ed Quint. Except the [same position of authority] of the [same word ending in a 'shun' sound]s was female.

_'Please don't secretly be Waltz...'_ Roll prayed as his opponent brought out the [construction tool]/[child's toy] hybrid known as Sakugarne to begin the battle.


End file.
